


New to the Company

by Markov_Debris



Series: Company Series [1]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, Series Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-26 12:04:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 47
Words: 67,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12058641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Markov_Debris/pseuds/Markov_Debris
Summary: It’s Ianto Jones first few weeks at Torchwood Three.  As he finds his way and hides his secret the team reflect on their own beginnings with Torchwood.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally written as a prequel but I am posting here in chronological order as much as possible. It has also been edited since it was originally posted on Live Journal.

Captain Jack Harkness’ first act as leader of Torchwood Cardiff was to inter his team, inter Alex, in the morgue.  He wept as he locked each of them away, he could feel the weight of his new responsibility increase, he could feel that soon he would have no time for tears.

In the background as he worked he could hear the news broadcast Alex had been watching.  Could hear the world celebrating the new millennium, hear hope in its glory.

Part of him wanted to turn it off.  Part of him felt it was obscene to hear the sounds of planet wide joy when the only reward Torchwood ever got for saving it was more despair.

Yet another part of Jack felt that to shut the broadcast off would be dishonourable.  The future hope he could hear being celebrated was the reason his colleagues died, it didn’t matter that it was Alex who killed them, they died for the future.

That was why he piped the broadcast throughout the whole Hub.  To let his lost colleagues, from the distant past as well as too near the present, hear what they died for.

When he finished Jack cleaned the Hub.  Washed away the bloodstains, made the place more orderly, even though he knew he was doing a terrible job of it.

The celebrations were still sounding when he finished.  So Jack sat in the chair Alex died in and watched them till the end.

When the broadcast ended, Jack had shed his last tear.  He looked around the Hub that he had known for over a hundred years in silence.

He listened, straining his ears for the sounds of a TARDIS materialising but it didn’t happen.  He was still here stuck beneath Cardiff, still the new head of Torchwood Cardiff.

Resigned to the inevitable Jack logged on to the Computer and reported the others deaths and his new status.  He then wrote out his report on the ‘Millennium Bug’ problem that had caused a convenient distraction for him last night.

He then began to familiarise himself with the responsibilities and protocols he needed as the leader of Torchwood.  Jack knew it was only a matter of time before the Torchwood London heavies showed up.

Inevitably Jack’s duty with the Rift called and when he returned it was to find the Head of Torchwood himself, Michael Standish along with his annoying second in command, Yvonne Hartman and an assorted bunch of goons milling around the central area.

“I’m sorry for your loss, they were good people,” Standish said as Jack approached.

“Thank you,” the immortal replied warily.

“You may not be aware of it but Alex guaranteed that you would become the head of the base here in Cardiff after he died.  I don’t just refer to the tragic loss of your colleagues, I mean that he set things in motion so that only you could take over, congratulations Jack,” the head of Torchwood said raising a hand to shake.

“Thank you,” the immortal replied again accepting it despite still being wary.

“Unfortunately he has also left you completely undermanned,” Hartman said her voice a cheese grater on the skin of pleasantry.  “The base here may not be one of our top priorities but it is important.  I’m sure we could find a few people willing to transfer here to help you out.”

“Yes I know it’s sudden after your loss but I’m sure you need the help,” Standish cut in trying to soothe the conversation.

“I’ve been drawing up a list of suitable people you only have to say the word and we can check with them if they are willing to come,” Yvonne concluded clearly irritated at her superior’s attempt to mollify Jack.

Jack looked from one to the other carefully.

Alex had done his best to keep Jack away from Torchwood London politics.  The field was where the immortal thrived and the ex-Time Agent had made it clear that he hated everything London represented.

He had been aware of what Alex had done to ensure that Torchwood Cardiff became Jack’s and not filled with the dregs of London.  He had made sure that the immortal could do things his way.

“Thank you for your offer but I think I’m better off finding my own team.  The only way any of your London cronies are getting in here is over my dead body and believe me nastier things than you have tried that,” Jack replied with a voice of steel.

“Jack are you sure...” Standish began.

“Positive now please leave,” he interrupted firmly.

“As you wish Captain and once again you have my condolences,” the Head of Torchwood said and with a wave of his hand dismissed his goons and Yvonne.

“I know right now you think you can run Cardiff by yourself, I wish you luck, but you’ll find it won’t be easy.  You’ll have to bring someone in eventually, make sure they are good people that you know you can trust,” Standish said quietly so that only Jack could hear.

With a last farewell they were gone and Jack was left alone.

The Hub seemed cold and silent for the first time in over a hundred years.  Not the normal quiet of everyone being out but a hushed ominous silence.

Torchwood was dangerous.  As Alex said the people of this planet weren’t ready.  He couldn’t die and he didn’t need to sleep.

Jack had spent over a hundred years getting to know Cardiff and the Rift.  He could look after them fine by himself and he didn’t want to lose anyone else.

Over a hundred years of losses, those under his command during the wars he fought were the worst ones upon his conscience; he wasn’t going to deliberately repeat that again.

“I am Torchwood Cardiff and here will be no more ghosts,” Jack shouted across the PA system and for a few seconds the Hub was filled with the noise of his command.

The silence that rolled in afterwards didn’t seem to agree with him.

Then the Rift alarm sounded and Torchwood Cardiff sprung into action.


	2. Chapter One

At 5.00 a.m. Captain Jack Harkness turned on the CCTV that covered the way leading up to the Tourist Information Office.  He was looking to see when the newest member of his team would turn up for his first day.

There was an excitement that buzzed through him that he hadn’t felt with any of the others.  His golden rule of never making important decisions with a hard on was being deliberately ignored.

The team had noticed the change in him instantly.  At first they had put it down to the fact that the something he had to sort out earlier was the pterodactyl he had come back with.

Dinosaurs held an excitement for the whole team.  Seeing an extinct creature from their planet’s past filled them with wonder.

That was before he announced that they needed to clear a space at the top of the Hub so that the pterodactyl could sleep there.  The mood darkened further when Jack tried to encourage them.

“Come on don’t you want a pet dinosaur?  Please,” he begged, “I want to get her settled before Ianto arrives.”

At one the whole team stopped what they were doing and turned to Jack.

“This would be Ianto Jones from Torchwood One?” Suzie asked suspiciously.

“The man who has been stalking you for the last few days?” Owen added.

“The person you promised us you had no intention of employing and would retcon if he kept on following you?” Toshiko concluded.

“Yep that’s him,” Jack said trying to motion them back into action but was forced to stop by their cold hard stares.

“What?  I was wrong.  He helped me catch the pterodactyl...” Jack began.

“And suddenly he’s qualified to be a member of the team?” Suzie demanded.

“I’m not employing him as a field agent.  His resume makes him ideal as support staff.  We discussed it while we were catching her and I decided that he put forward a good argument and decided to employ him,” Jack replied not quite convincing the team.

“So what...” Owen began but the immortal interrupted the dangerous question, _What was Ianto Jones going to be doing for them?_

“Come on he starts in the morning.  I want the pterodactyl installed in her eyrie before he gets here.  When you’ve done that you can go home and get some sleep so that you can be fresh to meet him,” Jack then turned his back on his team and continued to sort out the new home for Torchwood’s prehistoric pet.  

The team exchanged looks.  They did not like the idea of a new member of the team, especially one from Torchwood One.

Yet they hadn’t seen Jack like this since they heard about the battle of Canary Wharf.  They had all seen Ianto’s staff photo and even Tosh had a good idea of which part of Jack’s anatomy guided this sudden change of heart.

All three of them mentally gave it a week for Jack to get what he wanted and decide it was a bad idea after all.  Only Toshiko hoped to be proved wrong and that, despite appearances, this Ianto Jones would turn out to be a proper asset to the team the Captain was trying to convince them he was.

Jack was unaware of how much he was behaving like a hyperactive child.  The team worked swiftly, clutching firmly to his promise that they could all go when they were finished.

Owen delayed departing to get in an examination of the pterodactyl and take some samples while the prehistoric creature was still unconscious.  He didn’t bother to wait for most of the test results before heading out to a bar and bed.

As soon as he was alone Jack’s thoughts turned to Jones, Ianto Jones.  He sat back in his office chair remembering the feel of the Welshman beneath him then above him.

He remembered every snark, every criticism like they were poetic words of admiration.  His own stunned shock as Ianto told him he should be the one to inject the pterodactyl while the Welshman distracted it with dark chocolate.

Their shared adrenaline fuelled laugh, and that look.  He had seen similar versions of that look many times but rarely had he not received the kiss it promised.

He felt excitement and new life humming in his veins.  He had felt such dark despair after reading Rose’s name on the list of the dead and now he felt alive, not just an act but truly alive.

Jack could think of many reasons why Ianto had got up and told him he had to go.  The Immortal didn’t care, he just knew then that if he didn’t act immediately he would never see the young man again.

Since five o’clock, since his imagination couldn’t settle on any one memory of Ianto Jones long enough to allow him to mentally strip the Welshman naked and enjoy himself, he began to panic. 

What if finally offering his a job was not enough?  What if one of those reasons the Welshman left was enough to keep him away? 

Just before seven a suited figure appeared on the CCTV.  Jack gripped the arms of his chair, _wouldn’t do to look to eager._

Ten seconds later he immortal was out of the door and running towards the stairs to the Tourist Information Office.


	3. Chapter Two

“Ah Jones, Ianto Jones right on time,” Jack crooned smoothly as he opened the door before the Welshman could ring the bell.

He stepped back to allow the young man to enter but not too far back.  Ianto held his gaze as he passed before turning to the shop front behind him.

“The Tourist Office is just our cover but we don’t really get a chance to man it properly,” Jack said as the Welshman picked up a leaflet for a festival that was held over three years ago.

The immortal moved away from him to the desk so that he could lean over and push the button.  As he did so he made sure that his arse was on full display.

When the door opened, he motioned for the Welshman to go into the corridor ahead of him.  He took the opportunity to study the Welshman’s walk, or at least the tantalising glimpses of his arse which he received from under that suit jacket.

Jack was half tempted to take the stairs down to the hub just to hear Ianto breathing heavily but he wanted to show off and taking the lift allowed a better gasp of surprise.

He stood to close and surreptitiously he inhaled.  Ianto smelt freshly showered with a hint of expensive aftershave, coffee and that Eau de Sexy Welshman he smelt last night.

Jack’s fingers itched to run down Ianto’s back. To feel the tension in those shoulders, to cup that pert arse.

The immortal clenched his hands into fists to restrain himself.  It wasn’t an act of professionalism it was determination to win.

Jack took not being kissed by Ianto Jones as an affront and a challenge.  He was going to make the Welshman want him, kiss him and he was not going to give in.

Yet as the cogwheel door opened somehow it all seemed to go wrong.  Instead of the awestruck gasp he expected he heard a little disappointed sigh.

Anger flooded Jack.  _Okay so the Hub isn’t the window lit, gleaming, perfection Torchwood One was but there was no call for that.  It’s just darker and cosier that’s all, with a little damp._

Just before he could say something it occurred to him that Ianto had barely glanced at the splendour of the underground base.  His eyes seemed fixed upon the work stations with a look one normally associated with people facing a squad of Daleks.

Jack turned to see what it was that could possibly have his newest employee so transfixed.  It took him a full ten seconds to get it.

Workbenches, computer stations, even to couch and coffee table were covered with alien artefacts and technology, work tools, weaponry and ammo, paperwork of varying degrees of reportiness and coffee mugs sprawled everywhere garnished with wrappers and take away cartons, their accompanying contents spilt lightly over them.

As if determined to complete the image, there was a shriek from above as the pterodactyl seemed to have woken up and decided to stretch her wings.  Ianto stepped back neatly as she left her mark upon the scene.

Ianto Jones turned to him with a look Jack had last seen on one of his ex-mother-in-laws.   Happily though this time there was no expensive divorce proceedings to follow this time on the grounds of adultery.

“I...” Jack began but was silenced by a raised eyebrow.

“Would you like a tour of the rest of the base?” the immortal tried again with a fearlessness that only the deathless possess.

“It’s probably for the best if we postpone the tour for now sir.  We need to contain this sample for your scientists to test while it’s fresh. 

“Speaking of tests does your scientific team often uses mugs to run their experiments?  Also do you know if some of these stains react with floor cleaner or are they just stubborn? 

“I think it’s probably best sir if you show me where you keep your cleaning supplies.  If I start straight away I might be able to make a dent in this before the end of my probationary period,” the Welshman replied with false calm.

_Goddess he’s sexy when he’s angry and polite.  I want to back him into the nearest surface and kiss his until he can’t speak.  I want to feel him vibrate and seethe and writhe beneath me._

“It’s this way,” Jack answered with all the control he possessed.  He had to be very careful with this man or he would lose his challenge before it had even gotten interesting. 

_Considering the anger boiling beneath Ianto right now he’s as likely to murder me as accept my advances, so hot, but I don’t think it wise to reveal my immortality just yet._

The immortal took him to the supply cupboard which was embarrassingly full.  The Welshman picked up a bottle and examined the label closely.

“Do you think this is still good?” he asked almost rhetorically.

“I expect so why?” Jack asked sensing the trap in the question.

“The firm that made this went bust in 2002,” Ianto replied looking at him.

The immortal had no answer to that.  The Welshman gave a nod and began to pick things up from the cupboard and took them to a spot near the coffee table that was miraculously item free.

Without a further word he found a clean container to collect the sample the pterodactyl had left of the floor and handed it to Jack.  He then began filling the first of many black sacks.

 


	4. Chapter Three

Jack watched Ianto filling rubbish sacks for ten minutes before he remembered he was holding a pre-historic stool sample.  He took it down to autopsy and wrote Owen a note.

He paused at the top of the steps.  Jack was captivated by the young man’s swift graceful movements and the occasional glimpse of a fine arse.

The Welshman was methodical, checking each item before throwing it away.  To Jack’s chagrin he had rescued three objects, two of which were alien, from takeaway containers, one of which still contained a sauce that the artefact was liberally dunked in.

Ianto hesitantly looked at him and suddenly Jack realised that he should probably help.  The Welshman had finished clearing the sofa, coffee table and most of the floor area and was heading for the desks.

Despite Owen’s being nearer, Ianto headed for Toshiko’s first.  It was the neatest and he probably felt that he should break himself in gently.

There was hardly any rubbish but there were a few neglected coffee mugs.  Ianto gave Jack a tray to hold and proceeded to place all the items from the desk onto the tray.

It was only when he was half way through that the immortal thought to warn Ianto that Toshiko didn’t like people messing with her things.  As the damage was already done Jack decided to say nothing and accept the blame himself afterwards.

There were a few coffee rings on Tosh’s desk and as soon as it was clear the Welshman scrubbed them away.  He took great care dusting down all the computers and equipment, careful not to pull out any of the wires.

When he had done that he began to put items back.  A wave of affection suddenly hit Jack as he watched the reverence Ianto gave the photograph of Tosh’s parents as he wiped it over and put it back.

It was only when the Welshman finished that Jack looked and was surprised.  Apart from the rubbish and coffee mugs, he was sure that everything was put back in nearly the same place they had been removed from.

They moved on to Owen’s desk.  The medic had the most litter and mugs on his desk; he also had the most weaponry and several pieces of medical equipment.

Jack put the weapon and ammo away in the armoury while Ianto added Owen’s cups to the pile he was accumulating, presumably to take to the kitchen later.  He returned to find Ianto holding one of the medical instruments with a curious look on his face.

“Where should I put these?” he asked.

Jack led him to autopsy; it seemed to be the only clean area in the whole Hub.  Ianto washed and sterilised the medical equipment and put them away, only looking in the wrong place twice.

Jack decided that he wasn’t going to let the Welshman into his office until he had a chance to sort a few things out first, like his own rubbish.  Instead he led Ianto to Suzie’s desk as the next sacrifice.

His second in command had more artefacts and equipment than Toshiko and less mess than Owen.  Ianto treated her desk with the same care that he had the technical genius’s except that he went through the reports on her desk and re-ordered them.

Ianto then picked up as many mugs as he could and looked expectantly at Jack.  Taking the hint the Captain picked up the rest of the mugs himself and led the way to the kitchen.

The slight clink of crockery behind him confirmed that the state of the kitchen was indeed as bad as it looked even to his untrained eye.  The Welshman said nothing he just put his mugs down and turned to get the next load.

“Why don’t I get rid of these for you?” Jack volunteered picking up a couple of the black sacks.  He didn’t want to be in the presence of the young man’s disappointment any longer, and to be as far away from any washing up as he could.

“Thank you sir,” Ianto replied with a slight smile before collecting the next load of mugs.

The smile was enough to make Jack feel a little better as he carried the bags down to the recycling and disposal area.  He was pleasantly surprised to realise that Ianto had actually divided their rubbish as he put it in the bags ready to recycle.

It shouldn’t have been that much of a shock.  The recycling system was after all one of the few projects all four Torchwoods had been involved in that he supported whole heartedly.

When the Immortal got back to the Hub he found the remaining black sacks near the entrance to the lower levels, he was sure there were more than there had been when he went down.

He could also hear the distinct sound of a scrubbing brush on concrete.

Jack was so tempted to sneak past the black bags to take a look.  He wanted to see how delectable Ianto was on his hands and knees.

Instead he picked up a couple more bags and headed back to the recycling area.  It was obvious to Jack that Ianto had waited until he was out of the way before seeing to his disgusting floor.

_I’m not going to get kissed today and I’ve not exactly been subtle.  Torchwood is supposed to be excitement, adventure with exotic aliens.  To Ianto Jones it’s a group of slobs who don’t know how to tidy up after themselves, not exactly attractive._

Each trip to the recycling area lowered Jack’s opinion of himself and his team.  He tried to think of something other than drudge work for his newest team member to do.

Remembering his profile he felt that working in the Archives would be perfect, keeping their records in order.  Jack finished what he was doing and went along to check them out.

They were as dirty and chaotic as the rest of the Hub.  Since he had taken over things had rarely been put into any order, they’d just put them in a set of rooms to deal with later.

Jack suddenly felt a little wary about letting Ianto know he wanted him to sort them out.  Guiltily he remembered how the young man reacted on seeing the main Hub and figured he could probably get away with giving the Welshman a guided tour and letting him decide to sort them out on his own.

With a sigh the immortal accepted that he couldn’t hide down here forever and headed for the stairs.


	5. Chapter Four

When he returned to the main Hub both Ianto and most of the filth had vanished.  The Welshman’s disappearance was explained by the noises in the kitchen and the dirt by the fresh pine smell and paler floors.

Jack was admiring the young man’s handiwork when the cogwheel door opened and Tosh came in.  The scent of pine seemed to halt her then the realisation that they were rubbish free hastened her to her desk.

He could tell from the technical genius’s stunned look that Ianto had indeed managed to clean her work area without getting a single item out of place.  Toshiko then turned to gape at the rest of their work area before looking around for cause.

“He’s in the kitchen doing battle,” Jack said to her stunned silence.

“How long did all this take him?” she asked in a whisper.

“He got here around seven,” the immortal replied.  It was only then that he checked his watch and realised that it was nine, Tosh’s usual time to arrive.

The two of them stood staring for a while.  It had been getting worse and worse over the months and suddenly the place was transformed in just a couple of hours.

A sudden quiet from the kitchen drew their attention towards it.  Ianto emerged the image of an immaculate city worker not the man who had just scrubbed Jack’s floor and cleaned his kitchen.

His footfalls were light and only the fact that they were following him with their eyes allowed them to mark his journey to the centre of the Hub.  He stopped respectfully a few feet away and waited.

“Ianto Jones this is Toshiko Sato our resident technical genius,” Jack said making the introductions.

“A pleasure to meet to Ms. Sato,” Ianto said holding out his hand.  She smiled and took it replying.

“It’s nice to meet you to and Tosh will do.”

Ianto nodded and turned to Jack and said “Sir if you could show me where you keep your vehicle I’ll make sure it’s properly supplied before I go out.”

“You’re going out?” Jack said with a note of disappointment he knew Tosh had picked up on.

“Yes sir you don’t have any coffee and there are a few other supplies that you need,” Ianto replied.

“I thought Suzie got a jar...” Toshiko began but Jack was already remembering that nectar of the gods he had sampled yesterday.

“Yes of course we need coffee.  I’ll get you the credit card.”

“Wouldn’t it be more prudent for me to buy the supplies on my credit card and fill out an expense claim form afterwards?” Ianto asked cautiously.

“Of course, that’s what I meant a credit card expense form,” Jack said all too aware of Toshiko’s presence.  “The SUV’s this way.”

He headed towards the garage knowing that the Welshman would follow him.  The polite, “Ms. Sato,” that Ianto directed to Tosh confirmed this.

Of course it didn’t occur to him that the garage was in as bad a state as the main Hub until they got there and Jack inwardly cursed as he reached the entrance.  He just gave Ianto a tour of the supply cupboards and decided to leave him to it.

“Sir?” the Welshman called out and the Captain turned instantly.

“Yes Ianto?” Jack asked, hoping for something he knew wasn’t going to happen.

“I didn’t want to mention it in front of Ms. Sato but while I’m out I could organise a contract with a local laundry to do the washing, not for anything too bloody or covered in alien goo of course, I can do that, but everything else?” he said nervously.

“I’ll get my clothes bagged and ready for you by the time you leave,” Jack replied and received another smile and nod.  “Add the laundry you do yourself to your expenses and make sure the account you set up as a company one, fake company, so everyone can use it.”

“Of course sir,” Ianto replied smiling again.

It made him feel good inside that smile as he headed back to the main area.  It made him hopeful that Ianto wasn’t going to quit after a day, though he hadn’t met Owen or Suzie yet.

The good feeling lasted until he saw Toshiko’s face.

“You offered him the credit card,” she said incredulously.  “Owen still requires a written request to borrow the credit card.”

“It was just a slip of the tongue,” Jack replied.

“Owen and Suzie were right you are smitten,” she accused.

“I am not.  It’s just always exciting, getting a new team member, seeing how they fit in,” Jack replied defensively.

“The fact that he’s hot and came with his own dinosaur helped no doubt.  Unless of course it’s the scent of fresh pine that gets you going,” she criticized out of concern.

Jack could tell that Toshiko was disposed to like Ianto.  The efficiently clean desk had impressed her and the respectful ‘ _Ms. Sato_ ’s had flattered her.

“You have to admit he does great work.”

She smiled at the truth of this statement but she wasn’t about to relent. 

“And did you know that when you hired him?  Yesterday you were so dead set against the thought of having him here and today you are practically drooling over him as he calls you sir,” she sounded hurt, like he’d let her down.

“You know I once told Yvonne Hartman that I would have someone from London here over my dead body.  Now I have one over hers.

“Toshiko every one of you was an impulse decision.  Your circumstances and genius that I couldn’t waste, Owen’s tenacity and grief that I wanted to harness and heal.

“Cybermen and Dalek’s are terrible foes, two of the worst species the universe has to offer.  He survived them and he didn’t want to run away he wanted to do good, to make up for what Torchwood London had done despite him having no part in the Ghost Shift Project,” Jack told her feeling proud of Ianto.

“Even while begging for a job, asking me to accept him here he criticized me because we didn’t have dinosaur nets in the back of the SUV.  We were not equipped for everything because we’ve never thought about it.

“Now I hated London and it’s bureaucracy, but perhaps there was something in it, something that could help us fight the future better.  If nothing else he will save us from being killed by a pile of takeaway boxes,” Jack when finished she smiled and nodded.

She returned to her seat and began her day without further word.  Tosh was easily convinced because she wanted to believe him, wanted him to believe it himself.

She didn’t want him to get hurt.  Jack hadn’t told them that he had lost Rose but Toshiko was perceptive enough to know that he had lost someone.

Tosh also didn’t want him to hurt the young man she knew had survived a traumatic experience she couldn’t comprehend.  Jack could tell she hoped his protective side would win over the part of him that wanted that kiss.

Now he had to be on his best behaviour because the other two wouldn’t be as forgiving of his motives.  They could make life difficult for Ianto if they felt they were protecting the team, protecting Jack from himself.

They had been a good team for so long, worked well together.  Part of the problem was that Jack himself wasn’t sure where Ianto fitted in; he just knew that he would.


	6. Chapter Five

Toshiko Sato’s first sight of the Hub made her feel dizzy. One glance and she knew that she could happily spend a year exploring the place, learning the secrets of its technology.  
To be honest though she had begun feeling dizzy long before Jack lead her down into the Hub. From her small prison cell to the house Jack gave her to stay in while she fulfilled her five year contract, the journey had been overwhelming.  
The house was not a cell nor was it a gift. He explained that her old home had been sold and that there would be a deduction in her wages as rent until she got around to choosing a place of her own.  
He had arranged for her old furniture and personal items to be delivered to her new house but any electronic equipment, computers had been seized by UNIT and were unlikely to be returned.   
Jack also suggested that she change her wardrobe. While he wasn’t one to impose a dress code he said that dowdy jumpers didn’t suit her or the woman she was about to become.  
That was why she was dressed in a smart suit on her first day. It wasn’t as comfortable as her old clothes but she didn’t want to be comfortable, she wanted to be the person Jack imagined she could be when he visited her in prison.  
He had filled her head with the image of someone who could do anything with technology if she tried. A woman confident with her expertise and praised for her brilliance, perhaps with something more eloquent that Oh baby you’re good.  
The tour of the Hub didn’t make her feel any less overwhelmed. It also made her feel more confused.  
“And that’s most of it, what do you think?” Jack asked.  
“It’s huge how many people work here?” she asked.  
“I think the builders were planning for more people but that’s never happened. Our Archives though have required expanding.  
“We are only a small team here, there’s my second in command and we also have a doctor. We’ve needed someone with a greater affinity for tech than Suzie or I possess for a while,” Jack said grinning.  
“But I still don’t know what you do here. In the prison you made it sound very cloak and dagger but this isn’t espionage,” Toshiko said timidly.  
“I deliberately didn’t tell you because I didn’t want disbelief to make you refuse my offer. I also wanted you to see how genuine my offer was before I took you to the last area of the Hub,” Jack replied gently.  
He offered her his hand and cautiously she took it. There was something very sincere about him, she wanted to trust him and, because he got her out of that awful place, for now she would.  
Toshiko figured out that they were heading to a containment area before she saw the cells. Jack stroked his thumb gently over her hand to reassure her that she was just visiting.  
The person inside the cell looked like an ape if one ever descended from canines. Its low growl didn’t quite feel right to her fight or flight reflexes and its eyes were unearthly.  
“There’s a Rift in Space and Time that Cardiff sits on. Things come through the Rift, some of it’s from different periods in Earth history, some from different periods in other planet’s history.  
“I know a great deal about alien artefacts and technology and Suzie is a wizard with computers and weaponry but there are some things that stump us. I need someone who can examine a completely unknown artefact and tell me what it is, what is does.  
“You took plans from a device that doesn’t work and you made it work. I think you can take a piece of unknown technology and figure it out, you won’t always succeed, sometimes the best guess is all that can be hoped for, but for the most part you will,” Jack said with a hint of pride in his voice that she didn’t want to disappoint.  
Yet Toshiko couldn’t quite see it. Despite his words, his actions, her new wardrobe, she couldn’t see herself as this technology wizard that he wanted.  
The creature in the cell before her, it frightened and fascinated her at the same time. It’s eyes more than any other feature betrayed its alienness, told her that it didn’t think or feel the same way she did, how could technology from another part of the galaxy be any different a problem.  
She didn’t want to tell her rescuer that he had chosen the wrong person; that she couldn’t possibly do as he asked. Toshiko wondered if she proved too disappointing that she would end up living next door to the being she was staring at.  
Jack seemed to sense her doubts and lead her away. Relief and fear flooded over her as they re-entered the main Hub.  
“I know this seems overwhelming. I must say you are taking the sight of an alien better than either of the others.  
“Right now you are thinking that the task I’ve set for you is impossible. Aliens won’t think like us how can you fathom something when you don’t understand the thinking behind it.  
“Yet quite a lot of alien cultures have similarities to us. Your planet is full of cultures that are different, sometimes you get along, sometimes you don’t.   
“Science though is the greatest leveller. You need different types of mind to further your understanding but the basic principals are the same because they are universal laws,” Jack said kindly.  
“I’m...” Tosh began quietly.  
“Yes you are you just haven’t realised it. I asked the others to come in later today because I wanted to give you the tour, get a feel for the place.  
“I also have a task for you that I didn’t want the others interrupting before you start it,” Jack informed her as he lead the way back to one of the workstations.  
“This is yours, I can also give you access to the labs downstairs if you need them. As you can see there’s a bit if alien tech on your desk.  
“I know what it is, what it’s used for and how it works though it isn’t currently in the archives. I want you to examine it and figure out what you can and write a report that I would like to see on my desk by tomorrow night,” Jack said sitting the uncertain Toshiko at the desk and heading to the office.  
As soon as he disappeared she immediately thought of a problem and turned.  
“Your User Name is Sato T, all one word with capitals and your password is your date of birth with the month spelt out. I suggest you change your password first, minimum six characters, letters and numbers including a capital.  
“For this test I will be monitoring what you do, be fantastic,” Jack called out from his office and she smiled with nervous amusement.  
She turned to the new desk and familiarised herself with the equipment and computer before turning to the unusual shaped object in the centre. It was obviously alien but while she was sure that Jack wouldn’t give her something dangerous as a test Toshiko knew caution was a good idea.  
She was so absorbed that she was quite startled to hear the alarm that signalled the door to the Hub opening. Jack was beside her before the rest of the team entered.  
“Toshiko Sato may I introduce my second in command Suzie Costello and our Doctor, David Evans,” Jack said smoothly as they approached.  
“Pleased to meet you,” Toshiko said politely and was welcomed by both in return.  
Suzie was pleasant but aloof, it would be many months before they became comfortable working together although that didn’t stop the other woman teaching Tosh a great deal about the Hub’s mainframe and what it could do.  
David was much friendlier and had only been with Torchwood a few months himself. He had had a few brushes with the alien visitors to Cardiff and their effects, which had drawn Jack’s attention to the Welshman.  
It was obvious that Jack had told neither of them that she had come from a UNIT prison and they had been told not to ask her about how she joined. Toshiko was grateful as she doubted they would accept her so easily if they knew.  
She left at seven that night only because Jack insisted. She spent the whole night puzzling out the piece of alien tech she had been studying and couldn’t concentrate on anything else.  
The answer came to her suddenly just before she drifted off to sleep. In the morning she arrived at nine and continued with her tests straight away knowing exactly what it was she was looking at.  
Toshiko delivered her report on the alien remote control for a device that she speculated was the equivalent of a TV at five. Jack skimmed through it and smiled.  
“Good work Toshiko. Ask Suzie to teach you how to save your report for the archives. I have a few more pieces that we haven’t yet identified that came though recently, you can start work on them when you’re ready,” Jack said with a proud smile on his face.  
That smile was all it took for Toshiko to finally believe that Jack’s faith in her was justified. It was all it took to begin to release the knot of tension, the fear that she couldn’t do this and would be sent back.  
The next day the rift alarm sounded and she got her first taste of field work. Two days after that Suzie taught her to shoot and defend herself in hand to hand combat.  
A month later all her jumpers, except the couple knitted by relatives, where given to a second hand shop. She added a leather jacket and more casual clothes to her work wardrobe as finally Toshiko Sato found the place where she fitted.


	7. Chapter Six

Toshiko Sato sat back and smiled as she remembered David Evans.  He was the first of the three doctors Jack tried out before Owen joined them.

He had had a bubbly bright personality that gradually become false and worn by some of the terrible things they encountered in Torchwood.  Yet he always tried though, and Toshiko soon found Jack his equal in the bon homily and flirting stakes.

David was handsome, Welsh and blond with the warmest dark eyes.  He had flirted with her a little but in those early days she had been too shy to do more than blush.

Experience made her more confident, changed her shyness into simple reserve.  The irony was that by the time she thought about being tempted by Doctor David Evans, he had found someone else.

A woman they rescued from an alien attack, it seemed to be love at first sight.  He had mooned over her for weeks and it began to effect his work.

That was when he knew he had to quit, when he knew that it was best for everyone if he left and became a regular GP.

It was sad to see him go.  There had been a joy in the man that Torchwood lost and never replaced.

The second doctor barely lasted a month before his experiences drove him insane.  True the alien chemical he had been exposed to didn’t help but he had been a powder keg waiting to explode before then.

The third doctor Toshiko preferred to keep blotted from her mind.  He stayed for six months to gain experience with them before UNIT made him a better offer.

Then finally there was Owen.

As though summoned by her thinking of him the cogwheel door opened and Doctor Owen Harper entered with Suzie.  Tosh could tell by looking at them that they had spent the night together, probably complaining about Jack’s latest whim.

“What is that smell?” the medic asked within a few steps of entering.

“Pine,” Toshiko called out feigning disinterest.  “I believe a lot of detergents and disinfectants are scented with it.”

“A lot of what?” Owen asked but she didn’t bother to reply.

Toshiko waited for the sound of their footsteps to carry them towards the main area before the gasp as they stopped.  She permitted herself a small smile which she schooled before looking at their stunned faces.

The Technical Genius didn’t think any of them realised quiet what a mess they had allowed the Hub to get into.  Until she saw Ianto’s handiwork Toshiko had always considered herself quiet neat.

“Ianto decided to forgo the tour and get to work straight away.  He’s cleaned up in here and in the kitchen and is currently working on the SUV.  Apparently it wasn’t properly equipped,” Tosh said slightly embarrassed.

“Under Jack’s close supervision no doubt,” Owen groused.

“Actually Jack’s been mostly in his office since he left Ianto in the garage.  He did come out with a couple of rubbish bags though,” Toshiko replied feeling defensive towards their leader.

“He must be good if he’s got Jack trying to impress him,” Owen said surprised.

“Actually I think it was probably the nine, very full, bags of rubbish that Ianto collected this morning that goaded him into action,” Tosh said feeling a mix of defensiveness and shame.

“Nine,” Suzie mouthed.

“Yes I checked the CCTV.  By the way you weren’t using your coffee mugs to conduct experiments were you?” Tosh asked innocently.

“No I was not,” Owen said angrily.  “Did he say that?”

“Oh be fair Owen we have been getting takeaway coffee for the past three days because none of us could find a clean mug,” Suzie said unexpectedly.

“God I need a coffee,” Owen said shaking his head at the two women and heading for the kitchen before Tosh could say anything.

“Suzie I thought we had a new jar of coffee,” Owen called out after a few noisy minutes of cupboard searching.

“I think Ianto threw it out.  He said he would get some more after he sorted out the SUV and when I mentioned the jar of instant Jack interrupted and agreed with Ianto,” Toshiko said timidly.

“Well I’m not facing the new bloody maid without a coffee.  I’m off to Starbucks, girls do you want me to get you one?” he asked.

“Yes please,” Suzie practically begged.

“No thank you,” Tosh replied.

“Chicken,” Owen retorted.

“What about Jack?” Toshiko asked.

“And risk him telling me no because it might upset his new willy warmer,” Owen replied and headed straight out the door.

Suzie watched him go and then looked to Jack’s office.  Toshiko followed her gaze in time to see the Captain turning away from the window.

“If Jack’s too frightened of upsetting Ianto I suppose it’s up to me to supervise him with our top secret equipment,” Suzie said angrily and headed for the garage.

The second in command in a temper did not bode well for Ianto’s first day.  _On the other hand if he can intimidate Jack into tidying up perhaps he isn’t going to be the pushover Susie believes._

Toshiko sighed and focused on something much simpler, like the inner workings of an alien device.


	8. Chapter Seven

Suzie Costello’s entrance to the garage was masked by the sound of the vacuum cleaner.  She couldn’t help admiring one of their newest employee’s best features.

She could also see evidence of what was rapidly becoming his trademark, black plastic bags full of rubbish.  The difference to the garage, while less than the difference brought to the main Hub, was still noticeable.

Ianto backed out of the SUV and switched the vacuum cleaner off.  He stood, smoothed out his clothes and turned to her.

Suzie looked him over and decided that no man who had spent the morning cleaning, polishing and scrubbing had the right to look that immaculate.  There was a crisp pristine quality about him that she knew would get right up Owen’s nose.

It made her feel defensive so she crossed her arms as she said, “Suzie Costello, Jack’s second in command.”

“Ianto Jones Ma’am,” the Welshman replied with a slight nod and no attempt to shake her hand.

She moved forward and he stepped back to allow her to inspect the car.  It was as neat and dirt free as the main Hub this morning, he’d even given the computer equipment a dust.

“I haven’t been given a login ID here and I cannot use my London one.  Captain Harkness and Ms. Hartman ensured that inter branch transfers would be as difficult as possible,” Ianto said as though reading her thoughts.

“I will need new details to use the systems here.  However my London details will come in useful when accessing the Hard Drives you took,” he added without emotion.

That made her straighten up and look at him.

“You would have been foolish not to take them especially with UNIT and the army hovering like vultures,” he said with only a little trace of bitterness.

“I was an information researcher, prediction and anticipation are part of my job,” he added a moment later before she could dwell on the resentment she detected.

Suzie took that as a cue to examine the boot.  All was neatly packed and ordered with medical supplies and weapons cases within easy reach. 

There were also a few surprises that made her raise an eyebrow.  He countered that with a raised eyebrow of his own as though to remind her of what he’d just said.

“I bet you were a boy scout,” she said amused and received a small smile.

“It is a good wisdom to live by though not always easy when the nature of your job is the unexpected,” he replied politely.

Something about that smile irritated her.  There was a knowing in it that reminded her of Torchwood London and their smug superiority.

She wasn’t normally prone to bouts of violence but she felt the need to show Jack’s latest piece of arse who was in charge.  He’d also given her the perfect explanation should anyone ask.

Suzie sprung towards him.  With a speed and grace that took her by surprise he shifted out of her way.  She didn’t come within an inch of him.

Her own shocked momentum sent her tripping into Jack’s arms.  He grinned at her and she tried not to burn in shame at her loss of control.

“Hey there, whachya doing?” he asked

“We were just discussing anticipation and the unexpected,” Ianto replied smoothly without any hint of emotion.

“Nice,” Jack said leaning around Suzie. 

Whether he was referring to the repacked boot of the SUV or the Welshman who organised it she couldn’t say.  Suzie was also fairly sure Jack didn’t realise just where his hands had started wandering.

Suddenly Jack froze before she could say or do anything.  He grinned at her with a hint of apology then righted her and stepped away.

“Change of plans for you Ianto.  Owen seems to have gone out on a little mission so you won’t be getting your physical this morning,” Jack said with a grin.

“What a shame,” Ianto replied and Suzie wasn’t sure if he meant that or not.

“So if you go and find Tosh, she will sort out your computer access and issue you with a PDA.  Most of our systems are the same as London’s but we have a few unique programs like our Rift Monitors.  When you are settled in Toshiko will go over them with you,” Jack said his voice all business.

“I understand how dangerous Rifts can be,” Ianto said with a shade of coldness.

“Right.  Then I will give you a tour of the base and you can go out on those errands in time to bring back lunch.  Chinese today, I like Pork Balls,” Jack said with a smile.

“I’ll remember that sir,” Ianto said with a smile and nodded to dismiss himself and walked around them in the direction of the main area.

“Oh and Ianto,” Jack called turning to the Welshman.  “I want your report on my desk by the end of the day.”

“What report,” Suzie asked trying to squash her panic and missing Ianto’s reply.

What could Jack have asked Ianto to write a report on?  They all knew he had stalked Jack what if he had watched the rest of us too.

Guilty thoughts of Pilgrim surfaced.  She had chosen them particularly because they were difficult to find conventionally but if she had been watched?

More and more often she was finding herself with the need to pour her heart out to these strangers.  Then sense made sure she buried her secrets with Retcon.

In theory she could have talked to Jack or Owen.  Her boss always welcomed conversation but he wasn’t really approachable when he lived and breathed Torchwood too much to understand that the experiences could be overwhelming.

Owen, despite being her occasional lover, didn’t really relish those kinds of conversation.  He seemed to at first but Suzie soon understood that it was only so he could lead her towards letting him comforting her physically.

Sex with the medic now was more to do with physical release.  Except for those selfish occasions when she felt the need to get one over on Tosh by doing the one thing the technical genius seemed incapable of, taking Owen to bed.

Did Ianto know that she betrayed Torchwood to a group of strangers every week?  Did he know she in turn betrayed their kindness?

As she watched Jack watching Ianto’s arse move away, she wondered if the new boy would betray her to the boss and what it would take to keep him quiet.


	9. Chapter Eight

Suzie barely had time to compose herself before Jack turned to her.  The look on his face undid all her efforts.

She didn’t say anything, didn’t try to justify what she had done.  That would have only made him more angry and herself look foolish.

Inwardly Suzie cursed herself for assuming that, just because Jack was tidying his office, he wasn’t watching the boy.  Captain Harkness wasn’t one to miss an opportunity to ogle, especially when there was CCTV to allow discretion.

He knew her feelings about Torchwood London.  If Jack hadn’t been taking their downfall so seriously there was a part of Suzie that had wanted to gloat and celebrate.

“You know since I took over we’ve been a team of field agents,” Jack said unexpectedly.

Suzie wondered what on earth that had to do with Ianto Jones.  She allowed the confusion to show on her face because she knew he was itching to explain.

“One of our alarms goes off, the Rift, suspected alien activity, whatever and we spring into action.  We go and deal with whatever it is, aliens, displaced humans and their various stuff.

“We deal with the problems, make sure everything is safe and the rest of the world remains ignorant.  We take whatever it is back to be studied until we are sure what it is and that it isn’t dangerous or useful anymore.

“That is of course if we are not interrupted with another emergency.  So when the chaos is over we write our reports and either set whatever it was aside for further study later or to be put away for later.

“Only we don’t come back to those things later.  We had a lull before this business at the reservoir and we didn’t look at any of those things we set aside, we all focused on our own projects,” he said looking at her intently, confirming that he had heard the team’s conversation about the mugs.

“Nice speech have you been rehearsing it long?” She asked with a smile that only touched her lips.

Suzie was quite used to Jack’s whimsical employment policy.  All of the others though had had a purpose.  Other Doctors and technicians, a physicist, a vet, even an army officer hired to help improve their combat skills and provide muscle when needed.

She couldn’t see what the purpose was in hiring this boy.  Surely Jack could have got what he wanted without giving him a job, although Suzie had to admit he was good with a damp cloth.

“We missed the pterodactyl,” Jack said throwing her thoughts off balance again.

“And he found it with a portable rift monitor, anyone could have done that,” Suzie replied.

“It makes you wonder what else we’ve missed,” Jack said quietly. 

She said nothing knowing he was coming to the part of his speech where he would make the arguments to convince her.

“Torchwood has over a hundred years of history, what aliens and artefacts have we missed because we were distracted by something bigger?  Because we couldn’t find it despite extensive searches?  Because the technology available isn’t sophisticated enough to find them?

“Well that’s part of a researcher’s job.  Checking through news, blogs, reports to the police and other agencies looking for things out of the ordinary.

“He’s good at it too, some of the programs he has created are very sophisticated.  Some are simple to see the results, some I think require further investigation before yielding answers,” Jack said with admiration.

“Jones said that we wouldn’t be able to access the hard drives we retrieved from London,” Suzie said accusing.

“He’s right we still haven’t been able to get access despite the fact that I should with my details.  I think Yvonne deliberately programmed me out after I complained about the Ghost Shift project.

“However, despite the both of us preferring to pretend the other didn’t exist Hartman and I did exchange information.  Things too important to the planet’s survival to keep to ourselves and things unimportant to any of our own projects.

“Ianto’s search programs were added as padding to some of her information exchanges.  After Tosh scanned them they were added to the mainframe and have been collecting information ever since.

“That business with the Docratee would not have happened if we had bothered to check what these programs were doing.  They were one of several cases I found flagged up that we could have prevented from going bad,” Jack said sadly.

“So now we make sure to remember to check them more frequently,” Suzie stated.

“Those programs were created through experience and knowledge of alien encounters, that’s an ongoing thing.  Also that business with the Docratee, his program had a lot of obvious data by the time the case was drawn to our attention but in the beginning the indications were very subtle requiring more specific investigation.

“It isn’t just that, archiving and the cleaning.  He’s going to be sorting out our databases too,” Jack announced.

“Tosh maintains our database,” Suzie said defensively.

“She creates the programs and sees that they are running properly but the information in them?  All our reports?  I checked the state of our archives this morning and it made me wonder about the state of our computer records.

“I looked for information based on several of our old cases.  Some I couldn’t find no matter how detailed a search I did.  One search had over two hundred entries.  Some flagged up cases that it shouldn’t have while others didn’t flag up linked cases it should.

“Is it any wonder we don’t bother checking with the computer some times when we’re on a case?  We go in blind when I’m sure there could be some information we possess that is useful.

“That’s another part of a researcher’s job.  I’m going to ask Ianto to focus on the database work.  It’s an important thing and we’ve let it slide because we are a team of field agents and we all hate doing those tedious but important jobs,” Jack said finally.

Suzie knew he had won this argument.  Hearing it all spelt out she could see that he was right even if he only thought of it this morning.

She just wished he’d had this revelation yesterday and decided to employ someone else before the Torchwood London boy began to itch in his underwear.  Now she was stuck with him until Jack got bored.

Still she could take a leaf out of Jones’ book and be prepared.  She nodded her reluctant agreement while thinking about how she could go about finding a new researcher for Torchwood Three.


	10. Chapter Nine

Suzie Costello’s first impression of the Torchwood Hub was that she was an uncertain overnight guest in vast a bachelor pad. 

The reluctant bachelor was one of those who had only agreed to have his girlfriend over because she had told him they wouldn’t have sex until she saw where he lived.  He had agreed because while he wasn’t sure where the relationship was going he wasn’t ready to end it for something seemingly trivial.

Only Jack wasn’t Suzie’s boyfriend, he was her new boss and this had been his idea but she could see uncertainty in his eyes with every protective gesture towards his Hub.

Two months ago Suzie Costello had been one of the UK’s top weapons designers.  She was working on things so sophisticated that they were the weapons of twenty years in the future.

She had a good home, nice car, no boyfriend but she knew plenty of places she could go if she wanted companionship.  At the time she hadn’t realised how boring she was.

She knew about Torchwood.  Not the alien part but knew that they were some sort of governmental department who were interested in her wares.

They also occasionally gave her things to consult on.  Parts of weapons, never the whole thing, they gave her the impression they were from foreign weapons, if they were she knew why the government were worried about them.

With each item she studied for them she learnt a little more.  Figured out how each piece worked, what would blend and what were incompatible.

Two months ago Suzie Costello designed a weapon that was in many ways out of this world.  The first test fire was successful and as was her habit she disassembled the weapon before storing it.

The next day she was approached with a job offer.  It wasn’t that unusual for someone as successful as she was but they wanted her immediately with her current projects, something that, contractually, she was unable to provide.

Suzie was familiar with industrial espionage.  Her company made certain all employees knew the drill if they suspected a rival was trying to steal their secrets.

The first thing she did was check her lab for listening devices, cameras and spyware on her computer.  The sophistication in what she found was frightening, as well as the fact that if she hadn’t been looking so hard she would have missed them.

The next thing she did was check the components of the weapon.  Suzie wasn’t OCD but she was paranoid, already having experienced someone trying to steal your work does that.

While all the pieces were still there, intact, they had definitely been moved by someone.  She immediately informed her boss as it meant a breach of their security.

Her claims were dismissed.  Suzie was told to stop worrying and that he was looking forward to seeing her latest results.  He didn’t even care when he heard about the job offer.

Unhappy, she went back to her lab to work on the weapon.  It became immediately obvious from the test data that it hadn’t been stolen because the test fire caused damage to several of the components.

Suzie rebuilt the components and tested the weapon again to ensure that it wasn’t a fluke.  The results were the same so she re-tested those individual components remotely to see when it would become dangerous to the user.

Five shots and the weapon would explode.  Not very useful in the field.

Frustrated she went home.  The Weapon’s Expert hadn’t forgotten her experiences of that morning though, and soon found the tail.

For the next week Suzie was followed and spied on while she tried to perfect the weapon.  She was offered jobs from different companies and her bosses didn’t even try to increase her wages.

By the end of the week it became obvious that, for the most important component, the flaw in it wasn’t in the design but the material it was made of that required changing.  No sooner had she reported this but she began to be inundated with free samples of various materials.

Suzie decided to test the waters and deliberately set the project aside.  She began to work on perfecting an old project and ignored perfecting the weapon.

Soon the Weapon’s Expert began to receive threats.  Phone messages, e-mails, letters and words from her bosses that she had to finish the weapon.

She hated being bullied but returned to her work.  Suzie Costello already had a plan for her future.

Last week Suzie went on the run with the finished weapon and all of her notes in her possession.

It had been frightening at first but she knew she couldn’t live with the threats, it was time to hide for a while and then time to become her own boss.

After a week though Suzie had begun to enjoy it.  The threat of death aside, being on the run, hiding from those looking for her, outsmarting the lot of them was thrilling.

Then she ran into Jack.

She had been trying to pick him up in a bar because, despite being a fugitive, there were some things you needed and adrenaline had begun to make her horny.  He hadn’t worn his greatcoat then, she had just mistaken him for an ordinary but handsome guy.

It was only when they had gone to a hotel that he changed.  He stopped being an ordinary Joe and became the head of Torchwood Cardiff.

He explained to her the position she was in.  The fact that he had been allowed to apprehend her because she was in Wales, if she had stayed in England her fate at the hands of Torchwood London would have been different.

It wasn’t just words, he had proof to back up his claims.  He let her do her own checking and she found out that her old lab had been destroyed in a fire and that she was currently wanted on suspicion of arson and industrial espionage.

Suzie didn’t know why but she turned to Jack.  Appealed to him to help her, tried to seduce him into letting her go when he appeared unmoved.

He’s just chuckled at her then with all seriousness asked to see the weapon.  There was no obvious threat in his request although she was smart enough to know that there would be no chance of help if she refused.

The Captain looked the weapon over.  Suzie could see that Jack was impressed and that it worried him.  He looked from the weapon to her as he decided her fate.

Then he made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, a job that she would never be able to leave.

As he spoke he appealed to the excitement, the thrill of danger that had been awoken to her while Suzie was on the run.  As he spoke Jack convinced himself that this was a good idea, the lesser of two evils.

So here Suzie Costello was the reluctant guest in the bachelor pad of alien wonders.

At first he was a very protective bachelor, reluctant to let her explore his home, reluctant to let her out in case she ran into trouble.

That had lasted two days before she snapped, shouted at him that if he was going to treat her as an ornament she was better off taking her chances with the London mob.

Then he explained that he’d been doing this job alone for a year.  That he had promised himself that he wouldn’t lose anybody else so he stayed alone.

Suzie found herself apologising.  She too was more use to working alone.  Jack however had given her the impression that they were to be a team.

After being on the run she didn’t want to give up the excitement and danger, they made her feel so alive while her old job, despite its nature felt stuffy.  Now however she stopped wanting to be alone.

She wasn’t asking for a relationship other than the one he offered, boss and employee, but she wanted to be a team.  Wanted to be listened to no matter how mad or wrong her ideas were.

Jack said that he could do that.  That he would try.  He gave Suzie combat training, taught her how to use the equipment before letting her come out with him.

The first time they were Weevil hunting Suzie Costello knew that there was no other job for her.  Captain Jack Harkness, she was sure, knew that he was no longer in this mad world alone.


	11. Chapter Ten

As Jack walked from the garage to the central Hub he worried.

He wondered if Tosh’s warning had come too late or if Suzie’s aggression towards Ianto was the result of her hatred of Torchwood One, or both.

He knew that to Suzie, Torchwood London’s biggest crime wasn’t the threats and harassment that sent her on the run.  It was exposing her to the technology, getting her interested.

They let her figure out how the components worked so that she could build her own version of the weapon.  She could be seen as independent of them so that when the alien race the technology was stolen from threatened to sue, and worse, for breach of intergalactic patient laws, Torchwood London could wash their hands clean.

Of course if she had chosen to accept their offers of a job they would have protected her and they would have a weapons expert ripe to be exploited.  Suzie Costello’s skill made her too dangerous to return to her boring life and too dangerous to allow into London’s hands.

Jack chose to give up being the only member of Torchwood Cardiff to keep her and the Earth safe.  Even then he didn’t accept her presence at first, she had had to fight him for acknowledgement.

One thing they had agreed on absolutely was that no one from Torchwood One would ever be employed by them.  Now he had hired Ianto.

With this thought the Welshman came into view standing by Toshiko’s desk.  He was quiet and listening intently, nodding as she spoke.

Jack had the impression that where Owen would do that to the technical genius to impatiently humour her, their newest employee was taking in every word.  The immortal had the impression such attentiveness was unnerving Tosh.

He headed for his office and got a set of keys for Ianto.  He knew that would anger Suzie but if there was a mission and they were all needed while the Welshman was out he should have a way back in.

“Are you ready for the tour yet?” Jack asked stopping near the desk.

There was a mild look of relief on Tosh’s face as Ianto said.  “Yes sir.  Thank you Ms. Sato.”

Jack decided to begin with a tour of the higher areas of the Hub.  They were the least used and had more chance of being tidy than the lower levels.

Still Ianto looked intently at everything and made notes on his new PDA.  Jack had that impression of standing next to his ex-mother in law again.

He regretted now asking the Welshman for a report.  Jack had said it mostly to give Suzie the impression that he had actually thought out what Ianto’s duties were and given him his instructions.

He had been fairly sure that he wouldn’t be corrected.  Partly because Ianto wouldn’t want Suzie to think that they hadn’t discussed his job and partly because, coming from Torchwood One, he was used to writing reports.

As they finished the tour of the upper levels Jack saw that Owen had returned.  The medic however was in Autopsy with Suzie and the immortal had no desire to have her near Ianto any time soon.

So rather than introduce the medic to the new member of the team Jack steered them to the lower levels.  Too late he remembered that perhaps a confrontation with Owen and Suzie might be better than having Ianto see what was in store for him.

The lower levels brought even more notes on the PDA.  Jack didn’t even have to look to know that his prediction about getting Ianto to organise his archives just by letting him see the state of them was correct.

“As you can see things have gotten a little away with us.  We don’t get much time for the admin work,” Jack said with a grin as he lead Ianto back to the central Hub.

In return he was given a look that said, _last night you thought a pterodactyl was better than a butler.  That fall you took obviously knocked some sense into you._

“I want you to focus on sorting out our computer records as much as you can.  I know there is a lot to do everywhere but I think they are the most important priority,” Jack continued.

“I agree sir,” Ianto replied without a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“One last thing, stand on here,” Jack said directing the Welshman onto the paving slab on the platform by the water tower.

The young man gave him a curious look but did as instructed.  Jack pushed a few buttons and the invisible lift began to ascend.

Ianto jolted towards him but to Jack’s disappointment he didn’t grab hold.  Instead once he was certain of his balance he looked around him.

“Is your perception filter sophisticated enough to prevent people walking on the paving slab when the lift is in motion?” Ianto asked.

Jack gaped at him.

“We’re beneath the Plass by the water tower that’s hardly an industrial estate in the middle of nowhere with very few people passing by.

“I know people tend to be blind to the seemingly impossible that they wish to ignore but someone would have said something if they saw people rising from the pavement, even if it’s only in a blog, so you must have a perception filter,” Ianto explained.

“How do you know there aren’t any reports of people rising through the pavement?” Jack asked.

“One of my colleagues had to write reports on your activities.  If they were worthy of praise they were reduced to a link in the weekly bulletin that didn’t always work.  If you made a mistake, particularly a public one every one received an e-mail in their inbox,” Ianto replied sympathetically.

It made him angry that Hartman had chosen to ridicule him in this way.  Especially as it made his chances of getting that kiss even more remote than his slovenly cleaning habits.

“The man who wrote them was a crawler.  Apart from being forcibly subjected to a verbal rendition of their contents I tended to ignore those reports,” Ianto said kindly.

Jack looked him in the eyes and saw only sincerity.  He felt his heart elate, a gleam of hope arise but still...

“I was looking for you sir.  If there had been any mentions of people appearing out of the ground in the Plass, I would have found it,” the Welshman added with a small smile.

They had reached the top of the lift.  Ianto looked around at all the people ignoring them. 

Jack knew some of the others felt superior standing on this spot.  To be amongst so many people but invisible to them could make one feel great.

It didn’t feel like that standing next to Ianto.  He felt like there was an invisible wall between the Welshman and those around them, a wall that, even when he stepped off of the paving slab into the crowd, would remain.

“Do you have a list of everything we need?” Jack asked and the eerie feeling dissipated.

“Well I was meant to be taking your laundry,” Ianto pointed out and Jack cursed inwardly.

“But I could just set up the account this morning and take your clothes in on my way home,” Ianto suggested and the Captain smiled.

“Here are the keys to the Tourist Office in case we’re out when you return,” Jack said handing them over.

“Ms. Sato had taught me how to receive alerts on my PDA,” Ianto informed him.

“You won’t be needed on missions,” Jack pointed out.

“True but if you are called away there is no point in getting a Chinese if it will be cold long before you’re back.  If I know you’re out I won’t get one but I can order it for when you return,” he explained.

“That would be good.  We tend to get takeaway orders sent to the Tourist Office under the name of Mr Lloyd,” Jack informed him and the Welshman nodded.

Ianto looked at him to see if he had anything else to say.  All Jack could think of was how the wind ruffled the young man’s hair in such a cute way.

As no words were forthcoming Ianto nodded again and dismissed himself.  Jack watched him as he smoothly integrated himself into the crowd.

He wasn’t in the mood to return to the Hub just yet so instead he headed towards the bay.  His thoughts varied between his attractive new employee and his occasionally problematic second in command.


	12. Chapter Eleven

“Do I smell or something?” Owen asked causing Toshiko to jump.

“What?  How should I know?” she replied forcing herself not to inhale and identify which of the four expensive colognes the medic was wearing today.

“It’s just that I haven’t had the chance to meet the new boy yet.  If he’s worried about competition you can tell Jack that someone with his level of cleaning skill is definitely not my type,” he insisted making her smile.

“I think it was probably because you were with Suzie.  I gathered from the speed he raced from his office to the garage earlier that there had been an altercation?” Tosh queried.

“Yeah apparently Jones goaded her into lunging at him then skipped out of the way so that she hit Jack.  You know what she thinks of Torchwood London,” Owen replied and the technical genius nodded.

“I don’t think she’s going to win over this one,” Tosh said quietly.

“Is he that good looking?”

“No Jack’s that stubborn.  You know what he’s like when he takes a fancy to something.  The more you argue with him and tell him it won’t work, the more he wants it and tries to persuade you it’s a good idea.  It isn’t until he sees definite proof that that it won’t work that he is willing to let go,” she replied.

Owen merely nodded.  He didn’t care what arguments Jack had used to convince her and had probably been told the ones Suzie had been given.

Her eyes returned to the screen where the report she had been working on stared back at her.  Tosh couldn’t help look at the results that were going to be the key to the report, results that hadn’t been there ten minutes ago.

“What is it?” Owen asked concerned.

“I made a mistake,” she whispered softly.

“Don’t tell me you tried to snog Jack’s latest squeeze?” Owen said in disbelief.

“No!” Tosh protested loudly then lowered her voice to add, “with that.” 

She waved her hand at her report and the disbelief on Owen’s face increased which pleased her.

“I started on this report months ago but we were interrupted.  I went back to finish it but when I checked it over something was missing and I couldn’t figure out what,” she picked up the alien tech that had been bothering her.

“And he pointed out what you missed?”

“Not exactly, we were going over what equipment I use because if he’s going to dust he needs to know what to take extra care of.

“I was going through the various scanners and he mentioned the one I hadn’t used to test this.  It’s one of my standard scans but it’s hardly ever useful and because we were interrupted I didn’t realise the results were missing.

“Then when we were going over the use of the mainframe and gaining access to Torchwood One’s database, which he has allowed me to do, he brought up files of alien tech with similar markings to this,” she told him running her finger over the pattern in question.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that Jack’s right and he could be really useful,” she replied and silenced his protests with a look.

“I’ve had this sitting on my desk unfiled since before the fall of Canary Wharf.  I checked the records of the Torchwood One file, Ianto was the last person to access it, eighteen months ago.”

“Wow,” Owen said almost like a curse.

“I know.  Jack wants him to sort out the archives.”

“And our computer records, Suzie told me,” Owen interrupted.

“If his memory is that good and he finds something and remembers it when he sees something similar on another case,” She left the sentence hanging in the air.

“Suzie isn’t going to like that,” Owen said quietly.

Tosh nodded in agreement, the other woman’s dislike of Torchwood One was less of a secret that her own dislike of UNIT.

She glanced over at the report again.  Toshiko knew she wouldn’t have noticed Ianto’s subtle assistance if she hadn’t been studying him.

“What is it?”  Owen asked gently then added angrily, “the New Boy hasn’t upset you has he?”

“He’s been nothing but polite and courteous.  He’s been calling Jack sir,” she added to divert the medic’s attention from her discomfort.

“Sir?  I bet that’s going straight to his...”

“Owen!”

“Head,” the medic finished with hurt dignity and she looked away slightly embarrassed.

“I don’t know,” she said softly with a shrug as he looked at her, wanting to know what had upset her.

“Ah Torchwood paranoia,” Owen said suddenly catching the technical genius off guard.

“What’s worrying you is that a polite, anal maid doesn’t really seem like Jack’s type, or at least the type to be noticed by Jack.”

She nodded in surprise.  That was exactly it.  She knew the Welshman had to be brave and intelligent, finding them and catching a pterodactyl was proof of that.

Yet the man she met wasn’t quite what she expected.  The formality was disconcerting, especially as she was sure that Jack hadn’t corrected Ianto about calling him Sir.

“Look despite what Suzie and I have been saying about how Jones coming here for a job, okay he went a bit further than most to get one, but it was a job he wanted.

“Now he has one he’s adopting a professional demeanour.  I expect Torchwood One was more businesslike than we are.  He’ll soon adapt to us,” Owen said reassuringly.

“You know I don’t think that he and Jack are, you know,” she said after a few moments.

“At it?  Come on from what Suzie said...”

“But you can always tell with Jack and you know he hasn’t.”

“Tosh I haven’t seen Jack this morning,” Owen pointed out to her.

“But you saw him last night,” she insisted.

Owen sighed and closed his eyes and cast his mind back.  Suddenly a wicked smile appeared on his face.

“You’re right.  Jack was behaving last night like he did that time he spent a week pursuing that barmaid, when all the time she was interested in you,” Owen said and chuckled as Toshiko burned with shame.

While Jack’s attentions were being unnoticed by the barmaid and the barmaid’s were unnoticed by her, Toshiko had been focused on her own unnoticed attentions towards Owen.

Jack’s thing for the barmaid ended with him handing Tosh the barmaid’s number in front of everyone.  Owen chuckled then as he was now and her cheeks had burned then as they did now.

She knew Jack hadn’t meant any malice.  It was annoyance at being thwarted that made him give her the number in front of everyone instead of in private.

He gave her a smile of apology and made up for it by never letting them return to that pub again.  Which was a pity as it was a good pub.

Owen however was right.  Jack was mooning over Ianto the same way he had mooned over the barmaid.  At least he hadn’t offered her the credit card.

“You know all this talk is enough to almost excite my curiosity about our mysterious new maid,” Owen said interrupting her thoughts.

“Well perhaps you can meet him over lunch.  He’s bringing back Chinese, I told him to get your favourites,” she replied.

“Tosh you’re a star,” he told her and she felt another flush heading towards her face.

Any work or lunch plans they had were then thwarted as the Rift alarm sounded.  All thoughts of their newest member were brushed aside as Toshiko turned her attention towards the new emergency.


	13. Chapter Twelve

It was four hours before the team returned to the Hub, four intensely tedious hours in which they felt increasingly hungry.

An alien space craft had landed on the Pontypridd Golf Club’s eleventh hole.  To start with the Torchwood team weren’t sure if they were in for more trouble from the locals than their extraterrestrial visitors.

The ship belonged to the Twins of Derif, two species that Torchwood had met before and had a fairly friendly relationship.  Two of those hours had been spent cordially ensuring that relationship remained intact before they could even get down to what the Twin’s wanted.

The Twins evolved on the same planet and for the most part they looked similar.  One species was however several millennia old when the second species evolved.

The Younger Twin was the species that ran the planet.  Their love of bureaucracy both ensured their planet’s peace and made Jack wish for the last hour that he wouldn’t create an intergalactic incident, and reveal his secret to the team, if he committed suicide.

Oddly the Younger Twin was also responsible for producing Derif’s greatest artists and scientists.  Jack had visited Derif when he was a time agent and the two opposites in their nature had confused him as they produced the planets greatest extremes of boredom and beauty.

The Older Twin on the other hand produced most of the labour force.  From farmers to law enforcement officers they did all the essential jobs leaving the Younger Twin free to think.

This division of labour had often caused other species to mistakenly believe that the Older Twin was little more than the Younger’s slave.

A belief unintentionally supported by the fact that the Older Twin had the largest population, live to about eighty and gave birth to many children, where the Younger Twin’s lived to Three Hundred and barely produced more than two children in their long life.

Yet whenever Derif was threatened with war they found out just how wrong they were.  The Older Twin would rise up to protect the younger sibling race.

It wouldn’t be until an overture of peace was accepted by the Younger Twin that the Older would back down. 

With this in mind Jack had spent four hours trying not to upset the Younger Twin Captain while he got on with the bureaucracy and the Older Twin crew members watched with affection and amusement.

They came away with several alien artefacts as gifts.  Including at full six piece dinner service.

“One of my predecessors used to collect these,” Jack said defensively to the others amused looks.

By the time they returned to the Hub they were starving and their newest member practically forgotten.  That was until they read the note on the door from the garage to the main hub.

 

_Lunch is hot and waiting in the Conference Room for you._

_Please wipe your feet,_

_IJ_

 

Only Tosh and Jack bothered with the last instruction.  They hurried towards the centre of the Hub and eagerly deposited their things safely.

On heated trays in the conference room were a number of Chinese dishes with the covers on and the choice of plates, bowls, cutlery or chopsticks.  Behind was a cooler box containing several cartons of fruit juice with glasses and a metalic jug with mugs.

Ignoring the food Jack headed to the jug hoping it contained what he thought it did.  He poured himself a coffee and swallowed half of it with an obscene sigh.

“Herbal tea,” he lied to the aghast looks on their faces and turned away to refill the mug so they couldn’t see the truth.

Only Tosh wasn’t fooled, Jack reluctantly poured her a cup of liquid heaven, which she was due for loyally not letting Owen buy her a coffee earlier.  Then he turned his attention to the feast before them.

Suzie filled her bowl up and headed back down to get on with some work.  Owen said something to Tosh about not getting to meet the new boy and left too.

“You know he probably already had lunch and is getting on with some work.  He strikes me as someone who gets on with things,” Tosh said gently as Jack hoped that the morning hadn’t put Ianto off the rest of them.

Jack hastily ate his Chinese and winced as he spilt some down his shirt.  When he was finished, the Captain went to his office to change it, thanking his habit of buying several copies of the same shirt, until he realised that he had run out.

Then he spotted a carrier bag on his desk.  Jack was in too much of a hurry to speak to Ianto to wonder how the man knew his shirt size.

“What...” Ianto exclaimed as Jack found him in the office in the archives.

The newest member of Torchwood Cardiff however was not however addressing him.  He was looking from a written report to the computer in confusion.

“Need help with something?” Jack asked with a grin.

“Have your people no idea how to compose a proper report for the database?” he asked in the same critical tone he had used to comment on the state of his new shirt’s predecessor.

“What do you mean?” Jack asked defensively, he knew it was bad but saying they didn’t know how to use the system was going a bit far.

“Look at this,” Ianto said beckoning him over to sit in the chair next to him.

The Welshman put down the file he had been working on and picked up six others.  He gave them to Jack to glance through.

They were all for the Venterrik Scout party incident.  The Venterrik’s had landed on an industrial estate and tried to begin an invasion.

There had been no chance of a negotiation and Torchwood had been forced to end the situation by destroying their ship and killing all the Venterrik’s.

It wasn’t one of Jack’s proudest hours.  They had however collected technology and corpses to study so that they would be better prepared if they came again.

“This is your report on the Venterrik’s tactics, fighting techniques and the civilian involvement, there had been two witnesses but they were uninjured and easily made to forget.

“These are your doctor’s medical and autopsy reports, Ms Sato’s tech report, Ms Costello’s weapons report, Ms. Sato and Ms Costello’s joint report on the computers and your team performance assessment and recommendations.

“I looked this incident up on the computer and I found six, unlinked general reports with different spellings, some with different incident dates and in the case of the joint report, where there was a conflict of speculation Ms. Costello had overwritten Ms. Sato’s comments.”

Ianto punctuated his point by displaying one report after another.  All of the reports contained something useful but it had obviously taken the Welshman some time to find all of them, time they wouldn’t have in an emergency.

“It’s like they don’t even know how to use the database properly.  I’m sorry sir I know your Ms. Sato is brilliant, some of the improvements made are great but some weren’t necessary,” Ianto said apologising.

“How do you mean?” Jack asked sensing that Ianto genuinely didn’t want to criticize Toshiko.

“I showed you the Venterrik Files because I was working on them earlier.  This is what this incident report should look like,” Ianto said switching to a new file.

At first glance it looked like a very basic version of one of the old ones.  Okay there was information from each of his team’s reports followed by his recommendations if there was a second encounter.

Then he noticed the option buttons that hadn’t been there before.  He took control of the mouse and clicked on the Medical button.  Up came the detailed version of Owen’s report, with links to the individual autopsy reports.

There was a button so that he could then look at the technical reports.  A brief synopsis of what kind of technology they used then links to detailed reports on the ship, computers and individual artefacts recovered.

Each section was tailored specifically for the kind of report being written.  The whole thing allowed someone in a hurry to have a brief glance to see if this was what they wanted and giving them the option to go in-depth if they needed to.  There were even photos and scan results available.

This was what he had been looking for when he had tried to look up case information earlier.  Now he could see it he knew where the fault in their reporting lay.

“They don’t know how to use this properly,” Jack said quietly.

“Sir?” Ianto asked surprised.

“They were never taught to use it properly.  When I took over here... When I was a field agent I only ever used the... general report?” he asked and received a nod from the Welshman.

“On New Year’s Eve 1999 I was a Field Agent, I was sent out to deal with some bugs.  When I came back it was New Year’s Day 2000 and my boss had killed everyone else before killing himself,” Jack said quietly.

“I’m sorry,” Ianto said resting a hand on his arm.

There was genuine sympathy in his voice but when Jack looked the Welshman’s eyes no longer saw into the present.  They were looking at death and destruction, the loss of everyone.

Jack instantly felt the urge to kiss him.  To make that look disappear and cut out the memory of his own grief.

Yet as his hand reached to touch Ianto’s he returned to the present.  He gave Jack’s arm a gently squeeze and withdrew his hand.

“It’s going to be a lot of work converting all of our work properly and how do you get those links?” Jack asked trying to draw them both away from that moment.

“It will be a lot of work because there is so much but it will be worth it.  These are only individual incident reports.  The data in them form part of a species and tech databases.

“As for the links all you need to do is to assign someone to be charge of the case and they link everything to the general report.  Your staff only have to concentrate on writing their individual reports and the general report practically writes itself from their reports,” Ianto explained.

For the rest of the afternoon Ianto Jones showed Jack exactly what his database could do.

 


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Jack stood on the top of the tallest building in Cardiff and looked at the beauty below him.  The delight he had been feeling since he returned to the Hub yesterday with the pterodactyl had not diminished.

He had never seen the city in quiet this way before.  The rooftops had become his escape ever since the first skyscraper was built in Cardiff, a place where he could forget that he didn’t belong here and be closer to the stars where he was meant to dwell.

Tonight thought it was the lights below that called him.  He walked around the roof wondering which ones currently shone upon Ianto Jones.

Jack couldn’t remember ever having a proper pupil/teacher relationship before, certainly not on a one to one level.

When he had been a child on Boeshane he had been taught by computers.  A few hour in the morning, followed by lunch with his family, then a few hours in the afternoon before going out to play with his friends and learning all those important social skills that would become of greater value to him.

Despite the impression he tried to give Jack was a very intelligent man.  If anyone had asked those teaching computers they would have said that he was heading for a career as a top scientist.

That was before the creatures came, before his family was destroyed.  If you asked Jack now he wouldn’t be able to tell you what drove him instead towards the army and the time agency, it was something he could no longer bare to remember.

Neither the army nor the Time Agency taught pupil/teacher style or by computer.  They both preferred lectures with practical demonstrations to practice.

Jack’s thoughts darkened as he remember his Time Agency partner, the man who would later call himself John Hart.  Although the immortal liked to blame his ex for leading him down a dark path, the truth was he embraced it whole heartedly, and together they became worse.

That was until he split from the Time Agency and met the Doctor.  The Time Lord had also been a great teacher with words, with action until he had abandoned Jack before the ex-Time Agent had completely gotten to grips with being a good man.

Over the century since others had tried to teach Jack and sometimes he had learnt.  Usually thought he discovered more about his teacher’s body than what they were trying to teach him.

Today as he sat down he had wanted to learn.  He had wanted to impress his teacher with his learning, erase the disappointment in the young man’s eyes and see praise there instead.

So he listened intently as Ianto explained the database and walked Jack through how to use it.  He was patient and un-patronising, which surprised the immortal.

Jack didn’t know when he got so caught up in the wonder of what he was doing.  He kept forgetting himself as he read through and critiqued some of their old case files.

He stopped when his enthusiasm brought forth a chuckle from his teacher.  He looked at Ianto and could see the youth, beauty and vibrancy of the man he had laughed with last night.

As soon as Ianto noticed his gaze the barriers went up.

Jack shuddered as he stood on the roof top but not with cold.

_Had Ianto seen the truth about me in my eyes and shied away?  Or did they remind him of another set of eyes that will never look on him again?_

Either way the moment was gone and Jack lost his pupil/teacher relationship just as it was blossoming.  Ianto had instantly become the quiet respectful employee he had been all day.

He couldn’t help feel in that moment though that he had stopped disappointing Ianto for the first time today.  His mind still echoed with the praise he had been given as he got it right.

They had discussed the best way of getting the team to use this new system.  Both soon agreed that it was for the best for Ianto to teach Tosh and then get her to teach the other two.

It was a bit much for Ianto to teach Owen who, while he could be touchy about the most things, hadn’t actually met the Welshman yet.  Given Suzie’s attitude towards the ex-Torchwood One employee so far his teaching her was definitely out of the question.

As they walked back Jack launched into a tale about the time he had gone up against a mad computer.  Ianto listened intently to the story in a way that thrilled him as much as it had unnerved Tosh earlier.

As they entered the main Hub Jack noticed that the others had left for the day.  It didn’t feel as lonely as it usually did because he had a rapt audience.

It was only during a pause while Ianto made coffee that Jack realised that his every word was being catalogued for further study.  He was in the presence of a data gatherer and, truth or lie, the information was being horded.

It was the first of many evenings where Jack would regale Ianto with a tale of his adventures.  Partly it was in the hopes of impressing the young man who continued to elude his kiss, and partly so that for a while he would feel less alone.

Many months later when the truth of Ianto’s terrible secret came out, those evenings would hurt Jack as the deepest betrayal.  Each morsel of information the Welshman gathered he used to work against him.

It was later still that he realised that the one who betrayed him the most on those nights was himself.  It dawned on him how deluded he was to believe that his talking and Ianto’s listening made the friendship he had thought they had.

On the first night of Ianto’s employment in Torchwood Three though such thoughts were far from Jack’s mind.  He buzzed with the belief that his story was helping him towards the goal of getting that kiss as watched the city’s twinkling lights.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Ianto Jones entered the boarding house where he was staying until his house was ready and went straight to his room.  He first scanned for surveillance devices then checked that he hadn’t been followed.

The PDA Toshiko had given him was a big help there.  He used it to check the position of the other’s mobile phones, he smiled briefly when he notice the Captain was at the tallest building in the city and suspected he was on the roof.

The Welshman changed out of his suit and into a track suit and t-shirt.  He checked for anyone watching him again before picking up his MP3 player and heading out for a jog.

He loathed this track suit and he loathed jogging.  Yet it was necessary, a good excuse if he did accidently run into anyone.

_I like to have a quick jog before bed.  I hardly get any exercise at work.  I am just trying to re-familiarise myself with the city._

Like the music he wasn’t really listening to, the excuses were part of his cover.  He much preferred to run but running could attract undue attention where joggers tended to be dismissed as eccentric.

As he jogged he reflected on his awful day.  There was only one part of him that didn’t regret turning up to work this morning.

He had told himself he had to do whatever it took.  Ianto didn’t know what was worse, accepting his boss hitting on him or the chaos Torchwood Three existed in.

Part of him had wondered before at his luck in surviving; now he knew he hadn’t.  He’d just been in limbo and now he was working in hell.

The part that didn’t regret joining Torchwood Three, the part that made him return when he had left before lunch was the part that loved Lisa.  He was going to do his penance in Hades and when she was better he would leave and unlike Orpheus, he wouldn’t look back.

His intentions to make himself indispensible might be easier than he thought.  Now he just needed to work on becoming trusted and unnoticed.

Surreptitiously Ianto turned into the warehouse estate.  He made certain that there was no one around before entering one of the warehouses.

“I’m back,” he called softly as he headed for the hidden corner.

Joy and heartbreak warred within him as he saw Lisa.  She was the best and most awful thing he’d seen all day.

She wasn’t awake so he checked the medication and the equipment, everything was functioning okay.  Then to give himself something to do he tidied up and lightly dusted the keepsakes he had left on display for her.

When he was finished her eyes were open.

“How are you feeling?” he asked running his eyes over her face.

“The pain is duller but still strong,” she replied and he felt his heart twist.  “How did it go?”

“Well I’m in.  Ms. Costello doesn’t like me but I have been given access to their archives.  I had an explore earlier, there are lots of potential places for me to hide you.

“I also found an old copy of some blueprints.  I will study them in greater detail and find a suitable way to smuggle you in,” he replied.

“What were they like?” she asked and he felt for her being trapped here with only pain to occupy her.

Lisa had always been so active and lively.  She wriggled whenever they were both supposed to be watching TV together and she would have enjoyed the jog from his boarding house to here.

“Well I haven’t met their doctor yet and as I said Ms. Costello doesn’t like me.  I can’t tell if it’s because I’m from Torchwood One or because I’m currently the Captain’s favourite.

“Ms. Sato’s nice though, at least she’s making an effort to be.”  Ianto felt a slight twinge of guilt about that.

Toshiko had kindly shown him how the mainframe and their equipment worked and he was going to use it to betray her.  No not betray, just let her help without knowing.

He hoped that if he ever told her the truth they would be friends enough for her to trust him and help him.  Ianto didn’t know her well enough right now to be able to do that, part of him intended for them never to know each other that well.

“The Captain likes me a bit too much,” he confessed quietly.

He felt no similar regrets about betraying the Captain.  He didn’t expect any of the others to ask him how he was, he hoped it was because they were warned not to, but Jack had no excuse.

If Torchwood One hadn’t fallen but he had still experienced the same trauma that he had Ianto would have expected a few weeks leave and an appointment with the psychiatrist before being allowed back to work.

He would also have expected to be offered counselling, not that he would have accepted it but having the offer would have been nice.  He wasn’t sure the Captain even knew what happened to the other twenty-six survivors.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I promised I would do whatever I could to restore you.  He’s trying very badly to be subtle so I think I can handle him without letting him handle me,” Ianto said hopefully.

“I know you will,” Lisa said with a smile and Ianto missed the absent hint of jealousy .

“They don’t know how to use their information database.  The Captain wasn’t taught before he took over so couldn’t teach them.”

“I thought they had technical experts?”

“I don’t know about Ms. Costello but I know that Ms. Sato knows there is more than she’s using.  I found all her reports are duplicated so there is the correct version and the one everyone else had been using.

“I think she discovered them but out of loyalty to the Captain she decided not to say anything.  So tomorrow I have to lie and tell her that it is a new system that came from London to make using the database more efficient.

“She then has the opportunity to lie to me and pretend to learn the new system.  We will both know it’s a lie but we will be united in saving the Captain’s face,” Ianto said despondently, it was a lie that would draw him and Toshiko closer together but he had to risk it.

He continued to talk about his day and the bizarre things he had seen.  She listened quietly, intently and it made him ache for her that she couldn’t experience the wonder for herself.

Ianto didn’t know when he fell asleep he just knew he woke with a start at five when the monitor beeped for Lisa’s next dose.  He gave her the pain medication, checked everything was working and gave her a chaste kiss goodbye.

He jogged back to his boarding house on the lookout again for anything suspicious.  Once inside Ianto headed straight for the shower before donning a suit.

The Welshman left his lodgings a Torchwood employee once more.  Ready to return to Hades for the woman he loved.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Ianto Jones was proving as elusive and mysterious to Owen today as he had been yesterday.

When the medic arrived there was no sign of him or Tosh, which concerned him.  He asked Jack and was told that they were working on something in the archives.

There was something in the causal way he said it that gave Owen the impression that he was avoiding something.  He was probably still smarting from the number of rubbish sacks Ianto had produced.

He turned away from the mooning boss and decided to concentrate on some work.  He had a back log of reports to complete and didn’t want to be caught out by the new maid.

Owen was fully engrossed in the computer game he was playing instead of working when Ianto and Toshiko emerged.  He didn’t notice the Welshman had come to see him and left until he realised the excellent coffee he was drinking was in a mug and not a coffee shop cup.

He looked around knowing his had missed his first chance at meeting the new boy.  Tosh however was back and talking to Suzie.

Owen just had time to shut down his game before they two of them came over.  They invited him to join them in the conference room to talk about a new procedure for doing reports.

Despite the fact that it was Tosh giving the presentation Owen knew it was Ianto’s idea and that Jack supported it.  Torchwood’s technical genius however enthused about this new reporting system in that cute geeky way that always amused the medic rather than turned him on.

He had the vague impression that Toshiko was more expert at this system than a morning of teaching suggested.  Several times Suzie also betrayed the fact that she knew how to use this system but was unwilling to employ it.

Considering that even Owen could tell that this system was much easier to use, and his part relevant to what he did, meant that it was definitely a system used by Torchwood One and had been in place all the time. 

Owen felt a pang of sadness as he approved of this new computer system.  It felt like the end of an era, like Torchwood London had finally won.

Oh, he didn’t expect them to start spouting that ‘Queen and Country’ crap.  It was just that he could tell that they were about to become organised and efficient.

Jack ran a very loose ship.  As long as you obeyed his orders you could be as off the wall with your ideas as you liked, improvisation and discussion were encouraged.

Owen liked working that way.  He liked the freedoms in this job, it made it worth the crazy hours and he knew he could never go back.

He was still musing on this an hour later while he deliberately rearranged some of his equipment in autopsy.  It was probably no excuse though for his first words to Ianto Jones as he walked down the steps bearing coffee.

“You must be the new boy, I’m Doctor Owen Harper, get your kit off.”

The Welshman raised an eyebrow and carefully placed the coffee on a vacant surface as he replied, “You’ll have to buy me dinner first and I never put out on the first date.”

The snort told him that Suzie had heard what they both had said.  Owen could tell she was watching without him looking.

“As a new employee I have to do a full medical on you,” Owen replied indicating with a twist of his body that the Welshman should go over to the autopsy table and get naked.

Ianto’s eyes never left his as he said, “Then I’ll get the medical bay ready for you.”  He then turned and walked away passed both the girls and Jack who wore amused smiles.

Owen filed the fact that the Welshman hadn’t even looked at the autopsy table before looking bewildered at his colleagues.

“It isn’t exactly private Owen,” Tosh answered his unspoken question indicating Jack with her eyes.

The medic gave an overdramatic sigh and went to grab some alien scanners that he liked to use.  He should have guessed that someone that neat would be prudish, Jack wasn’t going to like that.

As he entered the medical bay Ianto was standing with his back to the wall eying the beds uncertainly.  Owen indicated which one they were going to use and drew the curtains without knowing why.

He put down the scanners he was carrying and inspected the equipment he was going to use as Ianto undressed.  He was surprised to find that everything was in order, the same order the autopsy bay had been in before he began to rearrange things.

That and the lack of dust in this barely used ward told him that this was a room that Ianto had cleaned earlier.  Grudgingly Owen gave points towards becoming efficient and organised.

He turned towards their newest employee and felt his jaw drop.

The Welshman’s torso and upper arms were covered in bruise marks and burns.  Ianto flinched away before Owen could touch one of them but it was enough for answers to fall into place.

Some of those marks were the shape of inhumanly large hands.  Given the paleness of the Welshman’s skin they were easy to date.

They were marks of the battle of Canary Wharf, Ianto Jones had literally been in the hands of the Cybermen.  Mentally Owen added some extra tests to make sure that being manhandled was all there was to it.

It explained why he didn’t look at the autopsy table.  The Cyberconverters from the outside gave no clue as to what was inside, they let the imagination add to the horror of knowing you were about to be dissected alive and shoved into a metal shell.

Although he knew he shouldn’t, part of Owen felt a little relieved.  The tidying up and the new computer system no longer felt like Torchwood One order being imposed upon him, it had become a young man’s attempt to keep control over his environment after a massive trauma.

Ianto sat, tense, on the bed trying to ignore the fact that evidence of his worst experiences were being displayed and picked over by a total stranger.  The medic added a few psychological tests to his examination list just in case there was something crazy about the Welshman that Jack missed.

“Some of these are recent,” Owen commented trying to find something to relax his patient a little.

“Well a six foot tall man tends to be rather heavy when dropped from a height,” Ianto replied.

“What?”

“The Captain didn’t tell you how we caught the pterodactyl?” Ianto asked cautiously.

 _No,_ Owen thought.  _He was too busy enthusing about you.  Although I bet when he imagines you naked your skin is flawless._

“No he was too busy trying to house train the new pet,” Owen replied leaving it open for the young man to tell him what happened.

“I tried to distract the pterodactyl while the Captain snuck up on her to inject her with a sedative.  Only she didn’t go for my distraction and ended up grabbing the Captain and flying around with him.  He injected the pterodactyl and I caught him as he fell.”

“Ouch,” Owen sympathised.

“He apologised but I was a bit more interested in moving before an unconscious pterodactyl crushed us,” the Welshman concluded.

“What happened then?”

“He said I could have the job and I left.”

The reply sounded genuine but Owen knew Jack well enough to know that couldn’t be all.  There had to have been some unspoken moment to get the Captain’s knickers in a twist over this boy.

For now though, Owen left it.  Telling the tale had relaxed Ianto a bit and he didn’t want to push and tense him up again.

He continued with his examination of the young man as professionally as he could while Ianto Jones tried to ignore the fact that it was happening.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

When Owen Harper first saw a Weevil in a cell he began to cry.  He was teased about it for a few months afterwards by both Suzie and Tosh when they found out but he couldn’t stop himself.

Seeing his second alien in the flesh had made everything real.  He had felt sometimes like it had only been his own stubbornness that insisted that he had seen that creature in Katie’s brain.  That up until now part of him still thought he was going mad.

Yet the living proof was in front of him, snarling at him.  He felt a sense of vindication, he had been right, Jack had told him the truth, there really were aliens and one had killed Katie.

With that thought grief washed over him anew.  He had been holding something back all this time, even after the confrontation with Jack in the cemetery, but that wasn’t necessary anymore, he had his answers and he was going to stop this happening to anyone else.

Jack never laughed or teased him.  He just quietly slipped away and allowed Owen to grieve in private.

He didn’t mention it when Owen came up from the cells an hour later.  He just began a tour of the facility concentrating on the main hub while almost trying to brush past the autopsy bay and the focus on the unused looking medical bay.

That amused Owen slightly.  He presumed that a lot of his job would involve doing autopsies on aliens yet Jack was trying not to emphasise the fact.

Owen decided that he wasn’t going to pussyfoot around.  If he was going to do this strange job properly, stop Katie’s tragedy from happening to others, then had best get started.

“Have you got anything for me to practice on?” Owen asked.

“What?” the Captain asked caught off guard.

“I’m sure you have a large set of computer records detailing the various alien autopsies that your doctors have done for me to die of boredom reading.  However isn’t part of the thing with aliens that their biology is different from ours and any new species is going to be a starting from scratch job?”

“Some things are quite universal,” Jack replied.

“Whatever, isn’t it best for me to start with a species that you already know the physiology of so that I can compare the similarities and differences for myself before I go in blind,” Owen said peactically.

“Are you sure you want to do this now?” Jack asked.

“I got the impression that you don’t always know what’s coming.  Your guest in the cells is proof that you don’t always kill what comes through.

“I’ve seen enough dodgy sci-fi movies to speculate that some of these creatures can have an effect on the human population that I will have to run tests for and use equipment not found on the NHS,” the Medic stated folding his arms.

“I also got the impression that you don’t always know when those somethings are going to come through.  It would be better for everyone if I’m prepared now and I learn much faster doing things practically than I do from text books,” Owen replied and he could see his words getting through.

Jack’s shoulders sagged slightly and he went over to the draws that lined the autopsy area.

“We have a morgue below for storing alien bodies cryogenically.  There are also late members of Torchwood, some belong to people that have to be woken up later and some that are unlabelled.

“Do not go inspecting the unlabelled draws you won’t be able to open them.  They have time or rift energy sensitive locks as they are significant to the future and won’t open until the appropriate moment, believe me I have been tempted to look.

“These two draws contain a lift that goes directly to the morgue that one is for the larger species.  You can also use them if you want to bring something up for re-examination or to do a routine one day defrost.

“These others are for normal temporary storage.  As you said we don’t always know when things are going to come through and we have occasionally ended up with a backlog.”

Jack pulled open one of the draws.  Inside was a creature like the one Owen had seen in the vaults, this one though had a bullet hole in its skull.

“We call them Weevils and Cardiff has a small population of them living in the sewers.  When they go rogue we try to capture them with the help of a pheromone spray.

“This one was too dangerous and we were forced to kill it.  By the time you’ve read through the notes it should be ready for you to begin,” Jack said before helping Owen lift it onto the autopsy table and leaving.

As Owen looked over the corpse in front of him he noticed the smell was wrong.  Oh there was the same musk as the living example in the cells and the smell of decay was there but there wasn’t the smell of human death.

The medic suddenly realised that this was a test.  He doubted they had conveniently killed a Weevil last night so Jack had set this up for when he was ready to begin.

The incident in the cells was also a test.  There would be embarrassment later over his crying in front of the alien, but right now he felt a small wave of relief that Jack knew it was grief and not a breakdown at seeing the reality of what he had signed up for.

The test now was not in how well he performed the alien autopsy.  It was how he conducted himself.

He could freeze up at the sight of the first corpse since he had to formally identify Katie.  He could also dissect the body in minute detail, cutting into it in unnecessary explorative detail as revenge for what another creature that didn’t belong had done to the woman he loved.

Owen did neither.  He decided that he was going to do this as though there were no notes, like no one had ever encountered this creature before.

He began with a surface examination collecting samples and looking at them while the body defrosted enough for him to open it up.  He made notes like he hadn’t since medical school and found himself enjoying the challenge.

He had completed his examination and wrote up his notes before he realised he was being watched.  A woman with dark curly hair was leaning on the rails watching him.

“I’m Suzie Costello Jack’s second in command,” she said with a smile.

“Doctor Owen Harper your new medic,” he replied without the smile.

“I’m also in charge of weapons and hardware.  When Jack thinks you’re ready I’ll introduce you to some of our alien medical equipment.  I will also be giving you weapons training so that you will be ready for field work,” she said watching him carefully.

The alien medical equipment hadn’t really surprised him but the gun training had.  The Hippocratic Oath flashed through his mind, to do no harm, he was meant to heal that was what being a doctor was all about.

He looked down at the body he had been examining all morning.

 _This one was too dangerous and we were forced to kill it_.

Army doctors sometimes carried weapons, he’d seen it in episodes of M*A*S*H.  He wasn’t sure where Hippocrates stood on alien life forms but he was sure he was meant to extend his oath to include them.

On the other hand he was meant to make decisions for the welfare of patients.  If some mad violent alien was coming towards them prepared to kill he wanted to be able to protect himself and anyone else.

“I look forward to it,” Owen replied not entirely sure if he meant it.

He headed to Jack’s office and delivered his report.  He received an “Excellent work but next time type it up your handwriting’s awful,” from the boss.

He was then introduced to Toshiko who seemed shy and focused on her work.  She knew her stuff though and she showed him around the computer system.

It was only when he was set up at his own work station that he looked at the previous reports on Weevils.  He smiled to himself at his own accuracy.

It would be almost three months into his time at Torchwood before he was forced to take a life.  The fact that it was a Weevil who was about to kill Tosh was an irony not lost on Owen.

He performed its autopsy with the same professional calm that he had his first.  He hadn’t needed to but part of him felt that symbolically that he should.

That night when he went out as usual to get drunk and he had his first one night stand since Katie died.  He felt no remorse about it in the morning and, for a short while, he had felt good as he let her body help him to forget everything.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

“Jack can I have a word?” Owen asked hovering in the doorway to the Captain’s office.

“Sure,” he replied and was mildly surprised that the medic shut the door behind him.

“I’ve just finished my medical report on Ianto.”

“Is everything okay?” Jack asked concerned; Owen’s actions suddenly had an ominous feel.

“Medically he’s fine.  I was thorough in making certain he was free of any cyber influence.”

Jack felt himself sag inwardly with relief.  It wasn’t something he had thought of but he was glad to know there was nothing wrong with his newest employee.

“That’s good.  So what’s the problem?”

“There were a few anomalies so I got Tosh to give me access to his confidential medical records.  Did you know he was in Torchwood One’s Psychic Research Programme?”

“I thought they all died during the first Ghost Shift test,” Jack stated covering up the fact that he didn’t know despite it probably being in Ianto’s personnel file too.

“Only the experimental group who were given drugs to enhance their abilities died or went mad.  Ianto was in the control group who were just given mental exercises to enhance their abilities.

“The theory was that the control group survived with minimum losses because of some natural mental defence that the drugs had stripped from the experimental group.  The control group were all knocked out when they opened the rift but most eventually woke up.

“However, Ianto was one of twelve in the control group who showed a significant increase in abilities several months before the Ghost Shift project started testing.

“The speculation is that they were exposed to an alien artefact but the twelve were from seven different departments, across the four psychic testing groups and had a range of different psychic starting levels,” Owen said clearly not believing that all of them could have coincidently crossed paths at the same time.

“Just speculation meaning the higher ups knew exactly what caused it but didn’t want their employees or the official records to know that they conducted an additional experiment on them,” Jack said angrily.

“That was my thought.”

“What kind of significant increase?” Jack asked.

“From being an extremely accurate lie detector to mind reading,” Owen replied.

“Mind reading?  Well that explains how he knew how I like my coffee,” the Captain said trying to make light of the possibility that Ianto could very well know exactly what the immortal thought of him; or more frighteningly perhaps felt nothing.

“Actually he probably knew how we drink our coffee from his super stalking powers.  As Suzie pointed out we’ve been going to that coffee shop a lot lately and we are fairly routine in our need for a caffeine intake.

“All he would need to do is stake out the coffee shop around the times we routinely go for coffee and check out what we order.  Tosh is the only who didn’t go out for coffee but we always brought something back for her.  You and I always sip our coffee before taking it out the shop and while Suzie doesn’t sip she does examine the contents before she leaves,” Owen stated.

Jack looked at him in disbelief.

“The coffee was the first thing I thought of when I saw that he could read minds; and the first thing I had to find an explanation for when I realised that I wasn’t sure that he could read them anymore,” Owen explained.

“What?”

“Part of my examination was to scan his brain activity while giving him our standard psychic tests.  He got an average score, the kind most people just get when they guess.”

“So he could have faked it,” Jack pointed out.

“I already thought of that but it’s the scans of his brain activity I was interested in not his answers.  They showed higher than normal activity in areas of the brain that are normally dormant which is why I dug out his medical records.

“They did a lot of scans of his brain during their experiment and the scans I took before and during my psychic test showed normal activity for him when not actively using his abilities.

“So normally he walks around and knows… that person’s lying, that person’s just read something to make her angry.  He might occasionally even know if someone suddenly thinks about bending him over a desk and smothering his hole in strawberry lube,” Owen said with a malicious smile.

“Owen,” Jack growled, the grin had widened for a second then became professional again.

“Standard procedure when issuing a psychic test is that there is also an emotional component.  I see a triangle and I go to my angry place, I see a circle and I go to my happy place.

“The theory is that not all psychic ability involved seeing into another’s mind or the future, some people might be able to sense emotions.  It’s never worked before and it didn’t work this time.”

“But he should have reacted that’s what the Torchwood One experiment results are telling you,” Jack said as the thought of an imposter passed through his mind.

“My scans show that he did sense my change in mood he just didn’t react.  If someone angrily charges towards you most people react, he should have twitched if nothing else but he didn’t.”

“You said there was nothing physically wrong with him,” Jack said concerned.

“I used the Bekaran deep tissue scanner on his brain because I was checking for cybernetic devices; all I saw was healthy brain matter.   I couldn’t understand it either and then in frustration I slammed my hand on the desk right onto some unused staples,” Owen informed him mimicking what he had done with his hands.

“Did it hurt?” Jack asked uncertain whether he should be serious or amused.

“Yes it did. The pain receptors in my hand sent a message to my brain.  My reflexes moved my hand away from the sharp thing before I looked to check if I was bleeding and then what it was I’d hit.

“Now psychic senses might be mostly housed in the brain itself but they should also send their data to be processed and make sense of but that’s not happening with Ianto.  It’s like when someone is paralysed the skin’s sensors still feel sensation but the connection to the brain is severed so it doesn’t get through.”

“How?”

“It isn’t unheard of for people who experience trauma to go into a fugue state and forget everything, even themselves.  I saw an episode of Casualty once where a blind girl recovered her sight and it turned out there was never anything physically wrong with her but as a child she had an experience that made her want to stop seeing so she had.

“We can only, imagine what the people at Torchwood One experienced during the battle of Canary Wharf but a psychic at his level would have felt what everyone was feeling, from the cowards running away to those unfortunates in cyber conversion chambers.

“The only way he could have survived with his sanity intact...”

“Is to block his own abilities.  He severed the connection because his own panic wouldn’t have allowed him to take a moment to create walls.

The immortal possessed some minor psychic abilities that had been trained to use them while he was at the Time Agency.  They weren’t much, above average for this century but minor for his own.  While he waited here on Earth, those abilities had grown and he had learnt to control them, learnt to create blocks to stop himself from sensing.

He had also survived wars.  They were unbearable enough at times without feeling the echoes of other men’s hells.

“Is it permanent?”

“Theoretically no he could get his abilities back as it’s a psychological block.  However I’m not sure that he wants to,” Owen stated. 

He waited for Jack’s brow to furrow in confusion before continuing.

“There is a letter on his file.  It doesn’t say what incident it followed but it states that, while he is willing to continue with the research programme, he asked not to be asked to do any unwilling scans of other people.

“It’s dated a week before the Ghost Shift Project first opened the rift and after what happened they agreed.”

“What, as his doctor, is your opinion?” Jack asked.

“I don’t think we should force him to regain his abilities; it would be traumatic especially if he doesn’t want them anymore.  I’ll monitor him every couple of weeks to check that there is no adverse effects.

“I’m telling you this because there is the possibility that they might suddenly come back on their own, although as time goes on that is unlikely, but it is something that as the boss you should be aware of.  I mean what if it happened in the middle of a mission?” Owen asked concerned.

“I didn’t employ him as a field agent.  He isn’t going on any missions unless in involves finding those doughnuts I like but can’t remember where I bought them.

“If his abilities do return we are probably the best people to help him cope.  Have you discussed that with him?” Jack asked.

“He didn’t mention his psychic abilities during the medical and when I read the letter I decided to come to you instead.  I believe that if he does ever want to try and regain his abilities he would come to you and ask.

“You know there are some quarters where having had such abilities, even if they are lost now, are very desirable.  It says something about him that he didn’t use them as a way in here.

“I’m sure that he’s assumed that you had read his file thoroughly.   Right now it is saying something to him that you haven’t mentioned them either,” Owen said his voice hinting that silence on the subject was a good thing.

“Thanks Owen.  Keep me posted if there are any changes.  As long as you don’t think it will do any harm I don’t see why we can’t let Ianto work through this on his own do you?”

“Yes I think that’s the best thing,” Owen replied dismissing himself.

Jack walked the medic to the door and then leaned on the frame looking around the Hub.  His eyes found Ianto arriving with lunch.

He sent out a psychic greeting, nothing big just a gentle brush to alert anyone capable of feeling it to Jack’s presence.  There was no reaction, just normal movements as he delivered everyone’s orders.

Wordlessly the immortal took the sandwiches, drink and doughnut and watched his remarkable new employee as he headed to the archives, and wondered what the best thing to do with what Owen had just told him was.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Suzie put down the tools she was using in frustration.  She knew she could fix the alien device in front of her but she just couldn’t get it right.

She looked up in time to see Owen and Ianto emerge from the walkway leading to the medical bay.  The Welshman headed for the archives and the medic hesitated until he was out of sight before going straight to Jack’s office.

Suzie hoped that Owen had found something wrong with Ianto, not life threatening but some medical reason for Jack to get rid of him because she was seething towards being the most pissed off person in the universe at the moment.

The best thing about her working day yesterday had been that late lunch.  They were the only positive Ianto had accumulated, having the food ready for them and not being there while they ate.

She hadn’t decided whether she was annoyed or amused by Jack calling the coffee herbal tea.  Ianto gave the game away with the cup he had brought her this morning.  It was so good she took a sample to be tested to see if contained anything it shouldn’t but drank it anyway.

Toshiko had known the lie for what it was and knew the contents of the “herbal tea”.  That hurt Suzie a little but she didn’t consider Tosh a threat to her position, despite some of the similarities in their jobs.

Suzie had worked through her lunch yesterday on one of her projects.  She had just finished preparing something to show Jack when he headed out of his office, with a new shirt on, towards the archives.

She had then turned her attention to the device she was trying make work now while she waited for his return.  Jack however did not emerge, _how long does it take to have a shag?_

By six o’clock Suzie, for once, felt no desire to stay and keep on working.  She ordered Tosh to set the alarms and told her and Owen that they could both go.

Owen however didn’t have the expected enthusiasm to accept an early night for once.  He complained about the fact that he hadn’t met the new maid.

Frustrated, she pointed out that if he didn’t want to leave early she was sure Jack would find an excuse for him to stay until midnight when he got back.  He instantly changed his mind and she invited him out for a drink.

When at the bar nursing a white wine she repeated the tirade of complaints she had subjected Owen to earlier and added a few new ones.  When she had finished though he increased her irritation by asking questions about what Ianto was like.

It wasn’t until his hand brushed her breast accidently on purpose that she twigged.  Such an action either made her more irritated or made her feel horny and Owen knew that well.

They didn’t often go out for a drink.  They usually only went if one of them wasn’t sure they fancied sex but weren’t quite ready to give up on the idea.

They didn’t usually talk.  She saved that for the people at Pilgrim who were both understanding and easily Retconned.

Last night Owen’s touch provoked both her irritation and her sexual need but not with him.  Suddenly she wanted something different so she told him.

He smiled to say no hard feelings then walked around her and began chatting up someone who was sitting further down the bar.  She went to the ladies to check out her appearance then left and hailed a cab.

Suzie went to a bar near the University where she was sure she would find what she wanted.  Her eyes swept the interior and found exactly what she desired and flashed him a smile.

He had dark hair, dark eyes and Welsh cheekbones.  He looked quiet, studious and as though he would rather be at home studying but had come out to please his mates.

Communication with looks, a drink and an unsuccessful attempt on his part to actually say something before she gestured for him to follow her.  The slight jeer from his friends told her he was doing exactly that.

She checked them into a cheap hotel nearby using one of her fake IDs.  He still hadn’t managed to say anything by the time she got him to the room and began to remove his clothes while making him keep his hands and lips to himself.

Nervous energy vibrated through him confirming that for a good looking man he wasn’t that experienced.  He was however young and fit.

She introduced him to handcuffs, spanking, prolonging the moment of climax and being rode hard by a bitch.  She marked and used him and he called her ma’am as he begged for more.

Achieving orgasm let the boy find his voice.  Surprise at himself and adoration of her flowed freely enough from him to make her smile and feel good until she got into work this morning.

She didn’t usually make promises to one night stands but he had been such a good boy that she took his name, Evan, and number and told him that if she needed him she would call.

Suzie thought of her boy as Ianto walked past.  She knew full well that Evan was a younger and better looking substitute for Torchwood’s newest employee.

Despite copping an eyeful of nice arse as he bent down to retrieve something Suzie felt no desire for Ianto.  Last night with Evan wasn’t about sexual lust, if it had been she would have let him touch her.

No it was about power.  Evan had let her control and dominate him and he adored her for the power she held over him.

She wanted Ianto to feel the same way.  She wanted to take him and make him know who was boss, know how worthless he was without her in charge.

Jack interest protected him though.  She didn’t want his leftovers in her bed and, despite her irritation, she was too fond of her leader to take his toy from him.

That fondness though was being sorely tested.

Suzie wasn’t too concerned to hear that Tosh was with Ianto in the archives when she got in this morning.  She just assumed that the technical genius was teaching him their computer system.

She was completely stunned when Toshiko emerged and arranged the teaching session in the conference room where they were taught a “New Reporting System from Torchwood One”.

Just as Owen surmised, Suzie was already familiar with the alternative reporting method.  She had found it during her first week and told Jack it was there.

Her boss had obviously forgotten that.  Forgotten that he had shot down Suzie’s suggestion that they use the other components of the report system because there was only the two of them and Jack thought that using the one form made it easier.

That had been before they came to their understanding.  It was before Tosh, Owen and the other employees that came and went and would have benefited from using this new way.

Suzie didn’t notice her own lunch being delivered; she was too busy watching Owen leave Jack’s office.  The second in command watched her boss accept his lunch and follow the delivery boy with his eyes as he headed for the archives.

Her attempts yesterday to access Ianto’s personnel file had been thwarted by the protection on all their files.  After Doctor Newham, the treacherous bitch who sold them out to join UNIT, left Jack had increased security on all personnel files and added new protocols every few months.

While Suzie was certain she could crack the code it was too much effort for what she wanted.  Besides there were easier ways to find out the qualifications and attributes of an archivist/maid.

She abandoned the alien device and absently tucked into her sandwich as she accessed a jobseekers website.  She began hunting down similar sounding jobs and cutting and pasting the sections she needed into a new file.

She focused herself completely on her new task knowing that, if the rift permitted, she would have Evan obeying her every whim in a hotel tonight.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Toshiko Sato was happily writing a program to convert all the old reports into their correct format based on who wrote them.  They would have to be checked afterwards of course to see that they information had gone in the right boxes; not just by Ianto but by the team to see if there was anything to add or correct but at least the program would do the bulk of the work.

She was more than happy to write the program for Ianto.  After all it was their ignorance that had increased his workload and the look of surprise on his face as she made her offer made Tosh more determined that she would do this.

That morning she had been greeted with a cup of coffee and Jack grinning with guilty sincerity.  He told her that Ianto had brought a new reporting system with him and she was to learn it and teach the others.

Despite not wanting to give in to Torchwood Paranoia, she felt wary at the thought that someone from Torchwood One was coming in and taking over their records keeping.  She knew very well the power of knowledge and controlling that knowledge.

Tosh was therefore taken aback to discover that the new system was actually one already in place.  She already knew about the alternative reporting systems and had done since her first week.

She assumed that Jack had a reason for ignoring the alternatives and preferring everybody to use the same form.  Yet she couldn’t resist using them herself, they helped shape her thoughts for her official reports and you never know.

It was obvious from the way Ianto was teaching her that he knew she was already using this system.  There were some new things like the linking and a cataloguing to connect the reports to other databases but what she knew he glossed over quickly.

As she went along with the charade of him pretending to teach her she knew it wasn’t for her benefit.  Remembering the fact that Jack had spent the afternoon and possibly the evening with Ianto in the Archives and still didn’t look as though he’d had sex, Tosh realised whose benefit it was for.

Jack hadn’t known about this other system until Ianto taught him yesterday.  She couldn’t think of any reason why he wouldn’t know but she knew she would not to question it.

Ianto hadn’t told Jack that she already knew and was using this new reporting system or she wouldn’t be here.  With this charade the Welshman was giving her the choice to either let the Captain keep his dignity or to crow at him.

Considering that Ianto hardly knew Jack and yet was being constantly ogled by him, his decision to save the Captain’s face surprised her a little.  Okay it could be argued that the Welshman was just trying to keep his new job but he could have had an air of smugness about him not uncertain hope that he could trust her.

Toshiko had felt flattered by this overture of trust.  It wasn’t that she was ever thought untrustworthy, as only Jack knew her background, but it was a gesture of friendship, one directed at her over Suzie or Owen.

It seemed to be the same with every new person that they had.  Aside from whatever they developed with Jack before they started, they all made friends with Suzie or Owen or one of the other people they had here first.  They only ever came to her when they wanted something.

The rational part of her mind had to admit that Ianto hadn’t actually met Owen yet and Suzie obviously didn’t like him so that meant the only choice left became her. 

Yet he hadn’t asked her for anything and he was shyly making an effort as if uncertain about the reception of his gesture.  It was enough to make her ignore that rational part of her and feel disposed to liking him anyway.

She wondered a little as his uncertainty.  With the exception of Owen everyone else assumed that being friendly while asking for a favour would automatically made her like them.

Owen of course hadn’t bothered with being friendly.  He just promised he’d help her with anything medical related in the future.

Their friendship had grown slowly as he grew more confident within the team.  They both began to rely on each other develop the trust soldiers share with their brothers in arms.

It was much later that she began to develop other feelings for him, feeling hurt with every night he went out to find someone else.  _Feelings not to be thought of right now_ , she told herself sternly.

She turned her focus on working through the examples Ianto provided while the Welshman radiated nervous caution.  Toshiko wondered if she had given off the same vibe when she had taught him the mainframe systems yesterday.

Guiltily she remembered the wariness she had felt.  The disconcerted sensation she had as Ianto listened to everything she said with his full attention and remembered her conversation with Owen about Torchwood Paranoia.

Toshiko replayed the conversation and her feelings, whilst also reading something on the report in front of her, and something clicked.

The thing that was wrong with Ianto Jones, the thing made him different from all the others, the reason he probably would have come to her with the olive branch of friendship first anyway, was experience.

Ianto might have a remarkable memory but with a non scientific background he couldn’t possibly understand everything in these reports.  Yet he knew enough to get them mostly in the right context, knew enough about aliens to get them mostly right.

He wasn’t a complete newbie like all the others had been, like she had been.  He might not be a field agent but he understood the dangers of their work, why what she had told him was important.

He also understood why Toshiko, as a member of the team, was important, that always took people a while to realise, even herself.  Jack was the only other one ever to know immediately how essential she was in her quiet way.

So, she had made her gesture of friendship in return, offered to write the program she was working on above all her personal projects.  Beside she had been convinced by Ianto’s demonstration of how an essential part of the team an archivist would make.

Toshiko watched Ianto and Owen emerging from the Medical bay.  Despite herself, a smile twitched on her lips as she remembered Ianto’s quip about requiring a few dates before putting out for the medic.

His request of ‘get your kit off’ had been inappropriate given their speculation about the Welshman and Jack.  It would also do Owen good not to always get his way; she might fancy him rotten but that didn’t mean Tosh couldn’t enjoy it a bit when someone poked friendly fun at the medic.

When Owen waited for Ianto to disappear before going into Jack’s office, she felt concerned.  Between her own liking for the young man and Jack’s own crush she hoped there was nothing wrong with him.

She increased her efforts on the programme.  If it was the last thing she could do for the Welshman, Tosh was determined to make it her best work.

Toshiko just finished as Owen emerged from Jack’s office and Ianto arrived with lunch.  She thanked him and told him that she was running the conversion program now.

He thanked her with a small smile that lit up his face enough for her to see what grabbed Jack’s attention.  She felt a small knot unclench within her, followed by a wave of relief, as Ianto delivered the last sandwich and the captain stared at his retreating back.

Whatever it was Owen had found it was not life or Torchwood threatening.  She tucked into her favourite sandwich and began to speculate on which of her projects would benefit from a little archive research.


	21. Chapter Twenty

Despite having worked for Torchwood for six months Toshiko Sato was still surprised by the sudden appearance of an airlock to an alien spaceship in the cellar of a large house.  The ship had obviously been there when the house was built because the brickwork was shaped over it. 

That was the only observation she was able to make before a noise above her reminded her that she was currently being pursued by aliens, probably the owners of the spaceship, which was why she was down here.

Swiftly, with the use of a PDA she had modified, she began to scan the locking mechanism.  Tosh was a little surprised when the first combination she tried opened it but wasted no time in going in and locking the door behind her.

She leaned up against it trying to calm herself down.  She wished Jack was there but he was up stairs not succeeding in distracting the aliens.

Oh, it had sounded so routine.  There hadn’t been any Rift activity but there was a build up of energy readings coming from the area around this house.

It was a simple job find the source and shut it down before it reached a level that indicated a massive radiation explosion was about to destroy half of the south coast.

She and Jack were doing a door to door asking if anyone had seen anything unusual when they arrived at the house.  The slight blue pallor identified the owners immediately as aliens as well as the static electricity they seemed to generate which was making her hair frizz.

Jack immediately tried the diplomacy route of asking them to turn their generator off.  Turned out the energy was from their starship’s engine and they had been waiting two hundred years for it to build up so they could get home.

While Jack sympathised he pointed out that engaging the ships engines would still irradiate the south coast as well as demolish everything built on top of the ship.

The aliens didn’t care so Jack switched from diplomacy to threats with a gun.  The first shot told the futility of that approach.  The bullet passed straight through the alien in question without so much as a waver in his stance.

Jack ordered her to leave him to it as he admired the blue tentacles coming out to the electrostatic exoskeleton masquerading as the alien’s clothes.  Either they weren’t into humanoids or Jack’s lack of subtly was obvious to them too.

So she had run towards the power source knowing that she had to shut it down, permanently.  Which was why the Japanese Woman was in this ship wishing one of the others was with her as she hadn’t ever done this on her own before.

The bang on the door beneath her told Toshiko that she couldn’t stay here.  Finding the engine room was what she needed to do.

She turned around and let her jaw drop.  The corridor before her stretched on for miles. 

If this ship took off it wouldn’t just destroy the house but the whole estate that surrounded it.  They had been built at the same time which was why a space ship never came up in any recent construction work problems.

Fear gripped her as she walked down the corridor, gun uselessly drawn.  There was nothing she could do with if even if she did encounter an alien.

As Tosh entered the engine room she stopped fearing.  For a moment the Technician felt like a kid let loose in a sweet shop unable to decide what to taste first.

Shaking herself she began taking readings with her PDA.  All the controls were labelled in the alien’s language but the scans would be able to tell her enough for her to figure out their functions.

Toshiko worked as quickly as she could combining the information and guess work.  There was still a chance though that she could get this wrong and blow everything up.

And there was no one there to make the decision for her.  No one more experienced to ask advice from.

With the build up of energy increasing there was no way she could wait until, by some miracle, the cavalry arrived.  Toshiko Sato had to rely only on herself and her skills.

Taking a few calming breaths, Tosh checked her reading again.  They were a little worse but told her more or less what they had a few minutes ago.

Holding her breath Tosh pressed the first control.  Nothing exploded which was a good sign so she pressed the next.

The Japanese Woman followed her readings closely as she pressed buttons and turned dials.  A few times she found herself changing her mind about the next control to use but she never changed it back.

Fifteen nerve racking minutes later she was plunged into darkness.  She took out her torch, checked her scans and sighed with relief as the energy levels began dropping safely.

Then Tosh remembered the aliens that had been outside when she started.  Even with whatever she had done to the lock it shouldn’t have taken them this long to break in.

She used her torch to scan the controls again and fixed them so that the engines could not be engaged again, she didn’t want anyone to try starting them later if she died going out through the airlock.

Then she walked back down the long, dark corridor where the unknown awaited.  Tosh took a steadying breath before remembering that she had just disabled an unknown alien space ship, she could face those she had tried to condemn Cardiff.

Instead when Toshiko stepped out it was to be faced by Captain Jack Harkness.  He lowered his gun and engulfed her in a huge hug that spoke both of his relief to see her and his congratulations that she had done it.

He followed her back into the space ship explaining how he had dealt the aliens with tentacles.  Jack then looked over the engine room and couldn’t stop telling Tosh how brilliant she was and how proud he was of her.

Playing her part down only made him praise her ingenuity more.  She felt herself glowing with pride which doubled as he said he couldn’t wait to tell the others before her embarrassed modesty kicked in.

He headed back down the corridor to the exit before she could protest.  Toshiko hesitated and flicked her torch over the alien engine room.

It looked even more out of this world in the darkness.  Yet the, Captain Harkness proclaimed, Technical Genius had learnt it and understood it and shut it down in less than half an hour.

She hurried back down the corridor to catch up with Jack.  She then helped him load several containers holding what looked like a cross between a blue jellyfish and a squid.

Toshiko hesitated before getting into the SUV.  She looked at the people walking down the street, an old couple, a mother and her children, a gang of teenagers looking furtive and a man with his dog.

 _None of you would be here if it wasn’t for me_ , she thought to herself.

She watched one of the teenager’s accidently jostle the old couple, then all of them helped to gather up the spilt shopping before trying to look as though the whole incident hadn’t happened.

Toshiko smiled to herself as she entered the SUV.  Seeing a glimpse of who she was doing this for made her feel better than all the praise from Jack’s lips.

Jack smiled at her in understanding before starting up the SUV and taking the scenic route back to the base.

 


	22. Chapter Twenty-one

Jack knew Ianto was avoiding him when he only returned from the archives to make them all their mid-afternoon coffee.  Part of him could have argued that the Welshman was a very busy man but he knew that wasn’t the truth.

Ianto delivered coffee to Owen and Suzie without either of them paying attention.  Tosh on the other had exchanged smiles and words with him before he headed to Jack.

The slight apprehension in Ianto’s demeanour confirmed Jack’s suspicion so he confined his responses to thank you with a smile.  The smile was shyly, nervously, returned which eased his heart a little but he was still being avoided.

He resisted following Ianto’s body with his eyes as he disappeared into the archives and instead looked at the team.  Owen still hadn’t noticed but Suzie was glaring after the Welshman before returning to her work.

Toshiko on the other hand was looking at Jack and, when he noticed, she smiled at him.  He came over to her in his most nonchalant manner.

“How’s it going Tosh?”

“I think you are right and that he could be an asset to the team.  I’ve asked him to do a little research for my projects when he has time,” she replied with a smile that said she could see right through him sometimes.

“That’s good,” he replied and returned to his office. 

Jack felt that the spike of jealousy that had flared when the Welshman had smiled at her was something that he didn’t want her to see.  Tosh had the one thing that the Captain couldn’t claim towards getting a genuine smile from Ianto, ignorance. 

The Welshman wasn’t stupid.  Even if he hadn’t thought about the loss of his psychic abilities Owen’s tests would have reminded him and he knew where the medic would turn when he found out.

Jack had no desire for a team member who could read minds.  He knew his own turbulent chaotic thoughts well enough to know they were not for eavesdroppers.

Yet the Immortal couldn’t just ignore what Owen had told him either.  Remembering probably stirred up bad memories in Ianto and the longer he was left to dwell the worse they would become and Jack couldn’t let that happen.

He spent the rest of the afternoon, between reports and phone calls, figuring out how to let Ianto know it was alright without bringing up Torchwood One.

Half an hour after Jack sent the others home Ianto came to his office bearing coffee.  He looked like a condemned man and cautiously sat in the chair opposite Jack when gestured to do so.

“Have you ever heard of a race called the Duroi?” Jack asked.

“No sir,” Ianto replied.

“They are a fascinating race, not beautiful to look at but comely enough.  They don’t have hair they have fine fronds, like sea anemones, only not just on their head but in various places.

“They are the most sensuous race you will ever come across.  A touch to a Duroi arm could feel to them like experienced lips or tongue working their magic far more intimately,” Jack said his eyes lowering to the Welshman’s groin.

An eyebrow was all he raised before saying, “I can see why you would enjoy their company Sir.”

“Oh the Duroi don’t just accept pleasure they can give it too.  A touch from one to the back can feel like ten minutes with a good masseuse,” Jack earned a slight smile.

“Of course it works with pain too.  A squeeze to them can be like an angry knife in the Duroi’s flesh, a touch from them can also feel like being burned to the bone,” he said softly.

Ianto shuddered involuntarily and Jack was half certain it came from experience not imagination.  It made the immortal wonder what incident prompted the letter requesting not to use his abilities against anyone.

“You see the Duroi were empathic, those fronds sense and transmitted emotional energies.  Like all living beings they felt good emotions and bad.

“It is always down to the individual’s conscience to decide but most preferred exchanges of pleasure to pain,” Jack said wistfully his thoughts caught in memory of a nice couple whose company he had _really_ enjoyed.

“What happened to them?” Ianto asked softly.

Jack looked at him, _he was perceptive_ , and gave a sad smile.

“They had learnt that other living beings didn’t have the same sense of touch that they did.  They learnt not to feel or transmit emotions to those that felt uncomfortable with the idea.

“There was a brutish, stupid, bullying race that encountered the Duroi and feared their abilities.  Both sides wanted to trade so both sides took precautions and made allowances.

“Accidents happen though and one touch was all it took to begin a war between them.  Most of the Duroi were wiped out.

“Some found planets where they could take sanctuary.  Others found planets where they began a life of slavery as torturers or pleasure givers,” Jack said bitterly.

“I’m sorry,” Ianto said softly. 

Jack looked at him and saw genuine sympathy and grief on his face before he schooled them away.

“What do you think?” Ianto asked after a few minutes, the question Jack had been waiting for.

“An accidental touch should never lead to genocide or a race’s enslavement,” Jack said firmly and Ianto nodded his grim agreement.

“I imagine having psychic abilities is very much like being excellent in bed or good with a gun.  Both lead to possibilities that touch the conscience,” Jack looked at Ianto and saw a frown mar his forehead.

“Do you sleep with someone because they want to?  Do you deny someone because you know it taunts them?  Do you seduce someone you know isn’t sure, knowing it could change their life forever?

“Do you remember each lover fondly or are they just to pass the time?  Do you suddenly find yourself surprised when one means more?  Or when one meant something important that you’ve just ruined?

“Can you justify taking another’s life?  Is their life worth less than yours?  Should you aim to wound or will only their death do? 

“Or are you a soldier following orders, do you trust your superiors and give them the responsibility and guilt or do you bear it yourself?

“Would you kill out of anger or cold revenge?  Would you kill to save yourself, save a friend, a lover, for Queen and Country, for the planet?  Do all those lives you take become meaningless or does each one destroy part of you until there is nothing?”

“Do...” a hand closed over his right hand, stroked it gently with a thumb and Jack returned from the dark abyss his thoughts were sending him down.

Jack felt a little embarrassed.  He hadn’t meant to reveal so much of himself.  That was the third time he had let his guard slip around Ianto.

A second brush of that thumb and the immortal looked up into bright blue eyes.  There was pain and understanding there, the need to say something important.

“I have never through conscious decision acted in a way that my conscience has regretted.   I cannot promise that I won’t make such a decision in the future for someone I’m close to, but I haven’t yet.

“I did once though have an accident that I regret.  I...” Jack silenced him by placing his free hand over Ianto’s. 

He could not bear the look of pain in the young man’s eyes.

“Everyone makes mistakes Ianto, mistakes we have to learn from, mistakes that if we are lucky we never have to repeat.  All we can hope is that we are allowed a second chance,” Jack said softly and a smile twitched on Ianto’s lips.

The immortal brushed his thumb across Ianto’s hand and instantly regretted it.  It was as though for those few moments the Welshman had forgotten where he was and who he was with and that one touch reminded him, brought down the barriers and he drew his hand away.

“I should...”

“Good night Ianto,” Jack answered and watched him leave wishing he had the right to ask him to stay.

 _Was seducing an employee because you are curious any better than experimenting on him in the name of science?  No, but Ianto Jones you are making resistance so difficult,_ Jack answered himself.

He wasn’t thinking about a nice body with a great arse, a beautiful face or a voice that made him tingle.

He was thinking of a hand on his, pulling him from his own darkness and eyes that shone with an understanding the owner should be too young to possess.


	23. Chapter Twenty-two

As soon as Ianto Jones arrived at his lodging house he dived into the shower, needing to scrub the day from his skin.  Whether it was Suzie’s venom, the memories brought up by the medical or Toshiko and Jack’s gestures of kindness and friendship he was trying to rid himself of he couldn’t say.

Ianto had been right in his prediction that acting as though he was saving the Captain’s face while teaching Tosh was the best approach.  She admired the loyalty and he could see her reservations about him slip away.

He had been genuinely surprised when she offered to write a program to convert the current reports for him.  He had known that was the easiest way to get the job done and had been making notes already to create such a program himself, yet still he was touched.

Ianto felt a pang of guilt as he remembered the please look on Toshiko’s face as she told him the program was ready.  She had worked a lot faster than he would have expected and her request for information to help with her projects was a sign that Tosh could see his value to the team.

The guilt had nothing to do with his hiding Lisa.  It was knowing that any friendship he and Toshiko built up had to be cut short when Lisa was better and they could leave.

Pushing Toshiko away would have been suspicious and it wasn’t as though he had that many friends left anymore.  Considering that Suzie was already searching for his replacement he needed friends in Torchwood Three.

Mentally he added vetting all the CV’s Suzie received to his to do list.  That way he would have the reassurance of knowing someone was prepared for when he left; and the satisfaction of knowing that he had vetted the CV’s would piss the second in command off when she found out.

He wasn’t sure what to make of Owen.  For someone so tactless as to order him to strip off in front of everyone, it surprised him that the doctor made no mention of his battle damage.

A sudden spike of fear flooded Ianto.  He quickly left the shower and towelled himself off before hurrying into the bedroom.

Ianto never expected to feel relieved to have a six foot man dropped on him.  He could only see it because he knew it was there, a slight darkening in the bruising the Captain caused in the shape of a small hand.

Lisa hadn’t meant to strike him.  She’d had some sort of fit as he was getting her settled in her life support machine and struck out.

Such remorse flooded from her but he reassured her that he knew it was an accident.  Still there had been a hand shaped mark on him made by the same force as the marks on his shoulder when he first met the Captain.

 _My hero_ , Ianto thought bitterly.  He gave the bruising one last glance then turned away, disgusted by the pathetic sight in the mirror.

He dressed in his jogging outfit.  This time he didn’t turn his MP3 player on, this time he needed silence.

After his three months probation Torchwood One had offered him the chance to participate in an experiment to improve psychic ability.  While he knew such a thing existed, he felt sceptical about their belief that he possessed it.

He had asked Lisa what she had thought and she was impressed and envious.  She said she knew her Welsh Man was special and encouraged him to join.

Of course the extra £5,000 a year and additional medical insurance and pension benefits helped too.  After all he wanted a place of his own.

So he agreed to being subjected to regular medical and psychic testing and spending a few hours each week with a group of other people meditating.  It didn’t help his scepticism when he realised that his so called psychic background was just his heightened sense of awareness.

However he decided that, as with all scientific experiments, failure could tell them as much as success so he persevered.  It came as a surprise when after a while he began to be aware of exactly how close friends and colleagues were feeling.

That was all until one day he was suddenly aware of the feelings of everyone including total strangers and colleagues with strong psychic shielding.  It gave him a headache and he reported to the experimenters to try and learn how to block them.

After that it seemed like every time Ianto learnt how to cope with an ability he discovered he developed a new one.  People who had been okay when he could just tell how someone felt suddenly became nervous and evasive around him.

And then there was...

 _No,_ Ianto practically screamed to himself.  He wasn’t going to go _there_ , he didn’t want to think about that.

Unfortunately not thinking about that incident made him remember the battle instead.  He had always felt ill during Ghost Sifts, even with the orders to keep his barriers up after what happened the first time, but that was nothing to the battle.

Even looking back Ianto still couldn’t interpret every sensation he felt that day.  He had just known that at any second he could have gone mad.

Then suddenly there was silence.

Not the quiet you get when you put your head underwater and everything’s muffled.  This was the silence you get after being caught too close to an explosion and you don’t know if your hearing will return.

It hadn’t made Ianto feel shocked and helpless though.  To him the world became clear and he could think again, and his first thought was to find Lisa.

He was shaking and felt sick as he reached the warehouse.  His attempts to calm himself were only a thin veneer but he had to see her.

Yet when he entered, when he went to Lisa, all this turbulent thoughts calmed.  He couldn’t afford them and they became petty worries to be left behind.

What was the loss of his ability to invade others minds compared to what Lisa had lost?  His vibrant, active Lisa who was always berating him for not getting enough exercise now cruelly confined to a metallic bed.

He didn’t realise that part of his feelings of numbness towards the world, like he was forever walking in autumnal predawn mist, was not battle trauma but the loss of part of himself that was as important as any other of his other senses.

Ianto pottered about waiting for her to wake before telling her about his day.  About teaching Tosh, Suzie’s seeking a replacement and his meeting Owen.

He didn’t mention to her the conversation with Jack.  He didn’t want her to see any hidden agenda in Jack’s words and spoil their reassurance.

Jack’s message had been simple; he had no interest in making Ianto a psychic again.  If Ianto decided that’s what he wanted then Jack would let him as long as he followed rules of conscience.

For a man who screamed loud and outrageous just by standing still and looking at you, he could be surprisingly gentle and subtle.  For a man who advertised himself as a big damn hero, he had also let Ianto see vulnerability.

_It was a weakness for me to exploit, so why does it make me feel protective? Is it just that I get the impression that he’s been though a similar tragedy and don’t want to see another person in such pain?_

That thought made him feel guilty.  While he was fairly sure Jack wouldn’t be happy to learn about Lisa what concerned Ianto more was that, like with Tosh, he would be cutting a friendship short when he left.

A glance at Lisa was all it took for his guilt to melt away.  The woman he loved was in greater pain than any his leaving would cause, relieving her of that pain was all that was important.

Yet as he talked more about what he had learnt at Torchwood, about his plan to get her inside, he still never mentioned Jack and their conversation about the Duroi.


	24. Chapter Twenty-three

Jack admitted to feeling a little foolish, racing up the stairs and out of the secret entrance to find Ianto standing there with a thoughtful look on his face, just because he was fifteen minutes late.  Okay technically he wasn’t late, he’d just been in the Tourist Office the whole time but still.

“Good morning sir, I will be down in a minute to make your coffee,” Ianto said with a slight smile and completely un-startled.

“What were you thinking about?” Jack asked moving closer.

“It wasn’t important,” Ianto replied dipping his head as though dismissing himself.

“It kept you up here for fifteen minutes and I don’t see any black bags,” Jack replied and the Welshman raised an amused eyebrow.

“I don’t know what your protocols are for the Tourist Office but I thought it would be a good idea to update the leaflets and I may have discovered a bit of a problem,” Ianto confessed, uncertain how Jack would react.

“What kind of problem?”

“When this cover was set up it was registered with the Welsh Tourist Board, even though it gets “mysteriously erased” from all maps and websites, it is registered and you invoice them every month for fake salaries.

“Only you’ve been a bit lax at that lately sir and it seems that questions about the need for a tourist office here have raised sir,” the Welshman replied looking nervous.

“What?” Jack exclaimed.

Ianto walked around the desk and began to boot up the computer behind the counter.  He then turned to Jack while waiting for it to get started.

“You didn’t have any information about ordering the leaflets on the mainframe so I figured this computer was used to do it and I was right.  Only when I was checking your e-mail to see how the ordering was done in the past I discovered correspondence concerning getting rid of the Tourist Office here,” Ianto stated.

“We haven’t really had much time man this place.  Looks like we need to find a new cover,” Jack thought gloomily. 

The problem was, with the bay becoming trendy, if they opened any kind of shop it might suddenly become popular and its long closures would be more noticeable.  At least the tourist office was boring enough to get away with being unnoticed.

“Not necessarily you just need to change the arrangement with the Welsh Tourist Board.  They could probably afford for this office to be kept opened part time, during the holiday season, Christmas and Easter holidays and big events that sort of thing,” Ianto replied.

“You want to man the Tourist Office?” Jack asked seeing where this was going. 

It seemed like an odd request as the others hated being made to man the office.  Only Lieutenant Porter hadn’t complained, but he had army discipline when it came to dull jobs.

“I would make the logical choice, I don’t have important work that has to stay in the base,” Ianto pointed out.

“You do have important work,” Jack barely kept from growling, it was bad enough with Suzie and Owen still doubting their need for an Admin person without Ianto adding to it.

“I know Sir, but I don’t have to do it all in the Archives if this computer is rigged with a secure connection to the one downstairs.  I could do my report updating, my research, your accounts,” Ianto added cautiously and Jack beamed at the thought of not doing the accounts anymore.

“So you’d be my guard dog?” Jack asked.

“Yes sir,” Ianto replied with a smile remembering their conversation as they were catching the pterodactyl.

“I take it you’ve worked out a way to square everything with the Welsh Tourist Board,” Jack asked figuring that Ianto probably wouldn’t have started this conversation if he hadn’t worked most of it out already.

“Well yes Sir, I could arrange a meeting on your behalf with my proposal and set myself up as the person who runs the office with you resigning.  They pay me to run the office full time during the periods I mentions and I invoice for the special occasions, this would of course be deducted from my Torchwood salary.”

“Okay but I’m sensing a but,” Jack said feeling a tension in the young man.

“One of the complaints about this office is that no one ever attends the seminars they hold to keep everyone up to speed on the local attractions and upcoming events.  If the meeting is successful and I become the person who runs this office I will probably have to go to the seminars and the next one is this Thursday and Friday,” Ianto said cautiously.

That was a lot of effort to maintain a cover.  While Ianto wasn’t a field agent he wasn’t sure the others would approve of their newest member moonlighting after only four days in the job.

“It was just a thought sir.  I will look into other options for you,” Ianto said suddenly as if knowing Jack would say no. 

“I’ll go and make your coffee.”

Before Jack could reply he moved towards the secret entrance.  As he entered Ianto glanced to the door.

Jack turned to see what had caught his attention but there was nothing there.  He turned back in time to see the Welshman’s shoulders slump slightly as he disappeared behind the door.

The immortal just couldn’t understand Ianto.  He was already doing all the drudge work, why would he volunteer to do two lots at the same time?

It couldn’t be just to get away from the less that warm atmosphere Suzie projected.  He did that anyway by staying in the archives.

Frustrated he kicked the ground then stared at the dancing dust he had dislodged in the hopes of finding the answers there.  Oddly enough he did, it was simply daylight.

In the four days Ianto had worked for Jack, the Welshman had already established a routine.  He arrived at 7 a.m., well before dawn, worked in the archives coming out only to get them coffee, food or information, then when the others had left he would go to Jack’s office for a chat and leave, well after dusk.

Ianto had come from the bright, sunlit Torchwood Tower and had hardly seen the light of day since being employed in the underground Hub.  While all of the team had gotten used to working underground in time they at least went out for missions and saw the sun then.

Being underground all the time probably wasn’t good for the Welshman’s mentality either.  Having to do all the menial jobs and never seeing daylight would make thinking of himself as a slave so easily, especially after the trauma of battle.

Jack had been seeing less sparkle in Ianto’s eyes, fewer small smiles, especially after Suzie ordered him to inter an alien corpse in the morgue when Owen had finished with it.  The Captain had been livid when he found out but the Welshman just accepted it as one of his duties despite the alarming shade of green his face became.

The immortal went around the counter to the computer Ianto had left on.  He went to the e-mail account to check and read though the messages which began over a month ago.

He only needed to read the words “Mayors Office” to know exactly who had begun this enquiry.  Jack rubbed his jaw self-consciously, remembering a good bitch slap.

He printed out all the messages and whatever information the computer held about their arrangement with the Welsh Tourist Board.  He then shut the computer down and took the printouts downstairs.

Jack placed them on his desk just as Ianto entered with his coffee.  The immortal studied him and, though he tried to mask it, the Welshman looked weary, lacking the energetic vibe his employees usually possessed.

He waited until Ianto began heading for the archives before booting up his computer.  He looked though the printouts while he waited.

Jack was going to need Toshiko’s help but the Welsh Tourist Board was about to get a new employee.


	25. Chapter Twenty-four

Like with a lot of Jack’s crazy ideas any doubts Toshiko had she kept to herself.  While she agreed that Ianto was the most logical choice for running the Tourist Office, and that it needed to be maintained, she couldn’t help wondering if there was something else too it.

She had to admit that she hadn’t been paying that much attention to how the others were getting on with Ianto and couldn’t help remember the hostility in the conversations they had had on the Welshman’s first day.

It was just that she was so used to being the last person that the newbie made friends with that being the first was something she wasn’t prepared for.  The combination of her quiet reserve and being the resident geek tended to put people off.

Usually the new person had settled into a new team dynamic before they tried to get to know her, so Toshiko tended to take her cues from the others and didn’t make an effort herself just letting friendship happen.

Owen had been an exception of course.  While the medic made no effort to win her favour with friendship he won it in his appreciation of her scientific skills.

Where the other doctors had made it clear that she was the techie and they were the medical expert, despite having picked up a few things over the years and filling in while they didn’t have a doctor.  Owen simply accepted that she did have a few medical skills and occasionally asked for her help.

While she could never do the same job as Owen she knew how to run his scientific equipment and understand the test results.  He also used her as a sounding board which the others never had.

Yesterday when Ianto brought her coffee, he told her he had e-mailed her with the information she requested.  It hadn’t been urgent so she gave him a surprised thanks.

The data he supplied her with was thorough and contained not only what she asked for but a few things that she hadn’t but sparked ideas in her mind.  It was as if he had known her for years and it was only hitting her now that their acquaintance was four days old.

The ease with which Ianto had learnt them was also demonstrated to her when the rift alarm went off yesterday lunchtime, the team had gone to the scene and found nothing.

Toshiko had pulled up the CCTV footage only to witness an object appearing and two boys picking it up and walking off with it.  She had been running their faces through facial recognition when Ianto called.

There had been a spate of 999 calls from a nearby area because of people’s skin changing colour from terracotta to electric blue.  They followed the trail of calls and found the two boys.

Owen had been turned devil red and Suzie lime green before they got the alien device back.  That left them with the problem of a group of people heading to A & E in rainbow shades.

They returned to the Hub to use the equipment there for better scans and determine if the device’s effects were dangerous.  Owen headed straight for the autopsy bay with Suzie to conduct tests.

On her desk Toshiko found a similar looking device in a box along with a paper and electronic files about it.  Using both, she and Jack began to work on what their device did and if there was a way to reverse its effects.

By the time Owen declared that the pigmentation change was harmless and would wear off in a few weeks, Toshiko and Jack had figured out how their device worked and how to reverse the colour change.

“It detects your mood and changes your colour to reflect how you feel,” Tosh explained.

“I wonder what Ianto would look like, what mood he reflects,” Suzie speculated.

“Well as this is an alien device and not a toy so you’re not gonna to find out.  Tosh teach them how to change people back and they can go and deal with those at the hospital while you think up a cover story,” Jack said with controlled anger and went to his office before Suzie could protest.

Thinking back Toshiko should have realised that Suzie at least wasn’t accepting Ianto’s presence as easily as she did.  The Welshman was obviously aware to the tension he was causing because, now she thought about it, unless there was an emergency, she only saw him when he delivered coffee or food.

Wanting to test her theory Tosh set her computer to alert her around the time the Welshman made his coffee round.  Like Jack a couple of days ago she wanted to gage the others reactions.

He delivered Suzie’s coffee first, she ignored him and then glared at him as he made his way towards Owen.  The medic didn’t pay attention to him either as he was absorbed in his work but he called out a moment later making the Welshman turn.

“Oi all these old reports I have to check, they’re not punishment for me ordering you to get your kit off are they?” the medic demanded.

“If I’d been offended by that I would have erased your porn collection.  Ms. Sato’s program converted your files into the new system and, while I can check some things, I’m not a medical expert,” Ianto replied.

He waited for Owen’s nod acknowledging that fact before turning away.  Ianto headed towards Toshiko before she could pretend not to be watching.

“I wanted to say thank you for the files they have been very helpful,” she said and received a small, pleased smile.

“Not a problem Miss,” he replied.

“You can all me Tosh and if you need anything that I can help with let me know,” she insisted.

“Thank you Tosh and I will let you know,” he replied with a slightly bigger smile before heading towards Jack’s office.

The Captain was on the phone so he left the coffee with an acknowledged wave before heading down towards the archives.  Like Jack the other day she watched the others as Ianto went and like him she got caught.

“Has he been bothering you?” Owen asked.

“No he hasn’t; in fact he’s been very helpful.  I wouldn’t have been able to solve the mysteries of that mood skin colour device without the information he left for me,” Tosh replied defensively.

“So what’s bothering you about him today?” the Medic asked,

“It’s nothing,” she replied but the look she got in return said _I don’t believe you and you know it, so spill._

“It seems there may be a problem with having the Tourist Office as our cover, questions about the need to have one here have been raised,” she replied.

“Are you saying that Torchwood, a top secret group of alien hunters outside the government, are worried about the Welsh Tourist Board?” Owen asked incredulously.

“A cover works better if it has an air of legitimacy and continuity regarding who runs it, Ianto offered to do it,” Tosh replied with a frown.

“So he can skive off.”

“No, he suggested a link with the computers here so that he could do his computer work while manning the Tourist Office.”

“Not exactly secure up there Tosh,” Owen pointed out.

“Actually I could rig something up with the security systems so that even if he is taken by surprise it would sever the connections with the Hub and become an ordinary office PC.”

“But something about the request is bothering you,” he pushed and she shrugged looking towards the archives.

“Have you talked to him?” Owen suggested and she couldn’t help the look guilt flash across her face.  “What?”

“Jack didn’t even tell Ianto that he would think about it and now that he has, he wants to make sure that it’s feasible before he tells him.  He sort of wants it to be a surprise,” she answered sounding lame.

Owen gave her a look and then burst out laughing.  Tosh knew it wasn’t against her but she couldn’t help the burning in her cheeks.

“And what are you two laughing about?” Suzie asked making Toshiko start in shock.

The Medic must have seen something in her look because he waved her to stay silent as he calmed his laughter.

“There was this top secret medical file in the Torchwood One database, real heavy encryption that took Tosh ages to crack and you’ll never guess what it is,” he told her.

As Suzie asked “what?” Toshiko wondered why Owen Harper was sent to torment her.

“Alien porn,” he exclaimed and Toshiko’s mind tried to stop remembering the images they had inadvertently uncovered yesterday and hoped had been forgotten.

“What?” Suzie exclaimed.

“Tentacle on tentacle action, it’s made Tosh quite nauseous,” Owen replied gleefully waggling his fingers to demonstrate.

“You are unbelievable sometimes Owen Harper,” Suzie said sourly and went back to her desk.

As she turned away Owen turned to Tosh and smiled.  He may torment her but he protected her too.

“What’s all this about tentacle porn?” Jack asked making Toshiko jump for the second time before glaring at Owen as he retold his story.

 


	26. Chapter Twenty-five

Owen had to admit that he was feeling a little bit jealous of Ianto Jones.  The reason for his jealousy was the same reason he had protected Jack’s latest attempt at romance from Suzie, Toshiko Sato.

The Medic would freely admit that after Katie died he stopped being the most sociable of individuals.  It was a quality that suited working for Torchwood rather well.

Whenever a new person came along he would tease them, goad them, push them, to see if they could handle the job, to test their boundaries, to see how easy they were to get into bed.

Excluding Ianto there were only two people who had joined Torchwood after him that he hadn’t managed to sleep with.  One was an avidly straight man and the other was a lesbian so he didn’t really think they counted.

Toshiko and Jack were the only members of the team that he hadn’t made a try for.

Jack always made it clear to his team that if they needed him for anything he was available.  Owen had first hand evidence of this having caught the Captain being needed by his avidly heterosexual male employee (still didn’t count because of the Harkness Factor).

Owen respected and admired Jack more than any other non-medical man he had ever known and more than some medical men that he had.  What he needed from the captain was to be valued and respected for his medical genius and general ingenuity and he couldn’t get that with sex.

Toshiko Sato was not on his list of people to bed for similar reasons.  Not that he craved her attention but he did respect and admire her and didn’t want to upset the friendship they had developed as he once almost had.

It has been easy to persuade her to go to London to deal with whatever it was that UNIT had found in the space ship that crashed onto Big Ben.  Flattery of her skills, a touch of desperate begging and she went.

Yet she was a little quieter when she returned and Jack knew why.  Owen knew Toshiko hadn’t grassed on him for shirking his responsibilities, and she was probably the reason he was given another chance.

The Captain ad been extra protective of her for weeks until she stopped being withdrawn.  By the end of those weeks Owen’s guilty made him protective of her too.

The Londoner had also noticed the pattern of friendship making within the team.  Those who weren’t permanently in orbit around Jack, always struck up conversations with Suzie or him first, trying to make friends.

Tosh’s reserve and wariness kept her distant from the others.  She had known and liked many of the Torchwood team who hadn’t stayed and their leaving hurt her.

Suspicion therefore made Owen wonder why Ianto had chosen to make friends with Tosh first.  Why had the Technical Genius in turn taken an immediate liking to him?

Like Tosh had earlier, Owen decided to watch the team’s reactions to Ianto as he distributed their lunch.  While he waited, he worked on some of those reports the Welshman wanted him to update.

Owen couldn’t help admiring the new reporting system.  He also couldn’t help feeling surprised at how true to what he wanted to convey the converted reports were.

Fortunately Ianto went out to get their lunch so the door alarm alerted Owen to his task of watching.  The Welshman shuffled the lunch bags briefly before heading towards Suzie.

The second in command ignored the Welshman as he put her food and a bottle of drink on a clear patch of desk.  As he moved away the look Suzie gave Ianto was downright murderous.

Owen was taken a little by surprise that Ianto headed to his desk next as it was out of his way.  He barely had time to look engrossed in his work before the Welshman silently delivered the food and went back to give Toshiko hers.

The Technical Genius was engrossed herself and Ianto did his best not to disturb her as he put her food down.  Tosh however did notice and gave him a smile which he returned and thanks.

The Welshman then headed for Jack’s office.  He stayed for about five minutes before leaving with a bemused look on his face.

As Ianto took his own food down to the Archives Owen turned to look at the others.  Toshiko was already back at her work but the look on Suzie’s face was downright scary.

Owen no longer wondered why Ianto had chosen to strike up a friendship with Tosh.  She and Jack were the only two who had been in any way civil to him since he started.

Ianto Jones had already become the third Torchwood employee that Owen had no intention of making a play for, and it had nothing to do with Jack’s obvious interest in him.

It had everything to do with the hand shaped bruises on the young man’s skin that he was intent on ignoring.  They were a reminder that this man had already lost everything, more than Owen had, and that being here meant more to him than a second chance.

Owen suddenly remembered the unexpected findings of his medical exam and wondered at the implications of what he just witnessed were.

Ianto had gone from being surrounded by hundreds of people whose feeling he knew, to four people he barely spoke to and whose emotional state he was blind to.  Given the looks Suzie was throwing his way, was it any wonder he spent most of his time alone in the archives.

Now the request to be in the Tourist Office made a little more sense.  While Ianto would still be alone most of the time at least he would get to meet other people who were more human that the Torchwood team were to him.

Owen felt a little relieved that Jack had realised that too and was organising things.  He just wished the captain wasn’t going to use it as a romantic gesture in his bid to bed the Welshman.

Attractive but broken did nothing for Owen and he decided he had no intention of making it worse despite his earlier jealousy.  He was fairly sure that Jack couldn’t see any fragility in Ianto and the Medic trusted that, when he did, he would back off on his own.

Toshiko didn’t see it either Owen realised, but she didn’t know about the loss of psychic ability.  She sympathised with Ianto’s losses from the battle but she didn’t understand everything.

Tosh was giving the Welshman a chance purely on his work merits and she was impressed.  She was also protective of her new friend and that’s what had sparked Owen’s jealousy.

Owen knew himself well enough to know that any gestures towards making friends with Ianto would come off as utterly false.  He could however make gesture towards accepting him as a work colleague.

The medic munched thoughtfully at his lunch as he wondered what use he could have for an archivist and researcher.


	27. Chapter Twenty-six

A screeching jackhammer woke Owen Harper up.  It took a few moments for him to realise the screeching was his phone, the jackhammer was his hangover and that his bed was too warm.

“Are you going to answer that goddamned phone,” the familiar voice growled beside him.

There was a pause in the universe.

The two men looked at each other in disbelief.  Both had the same ‘what happened last night’ look on their face as they realised they had only the present evidence to give them the facts, and none of the memories.

“Bloody Torchwood,” they said in unison despite it being a lie on both sides.

Owen answered his phone while Mark grabbed his clothes and headed for the shower.  The botanist emerged in last night’s clothes and headed for the kitchen while the medic dashed in for his own quick wash.

The team had been out celebrating another successful mission over.  The last thing Owen remembered was Jack waltzing off with a buxom redhead he’s been chatting up, leaving him and Mark to get drunk and be each other’s consolation prize.

They stood for a moment in the kitchen looking at each other, both knowing they would rather have been with someone else, both knowing it would never happen again and never be spoken of.  With that silently agreed, Owen told Mark that they had a mission and that he would give him a lift.

Mark Trevelin was a botany professor Torchwood encountered three months ago while investigating an alien plant.  The Welshman had been dealing with the plant for some time and was instrumental in helping them get rid of it.

The botanist and Jack had shared chemistry and bodily fluids before the Captain decided to let him keep his memory just in case his expertise were required again.  Then were a month later, after Mark helped them a second time, Torchwood suddenly needed a permanent botany expert.

Owen had been put out at first.  He’d barely been with Torchwood five months and already they had a second scientific specialist.  The fact that he was eager to learn in order to please Jack didn’t help.

Mark fitted in with the others surprisingly well.  He got on better with Owen once he realised that the Welshman was obviously only in Torchwood for Jack and was constantly being disappointed, the Captain never made any promises.

It helped that Mark was willing to share his knowledge so freely.  Owen was beginning to become quite the amateur botanist himself and they began to grow alien plants in one of the underground labs.

“What the hell is going on that I have to get up at this godforsaken hour,” Owen complained as soon as they arrived at the location Jack had given him.

Both Toshiko and Suzie checked their watches but half past ten was an ungodly hour when he had a hangover like this one.  Judging from the looks the others gave him they all knew exactly what Owen and Mark had done in their inebriated state.

“The Rift monitor has been registering ripples of activity at these co-ordinates.  It suggests that something large is about to come through,” Toshiko replied ignoring his mood as usual.

“Great any idea of when?” Owen whined.

“Sometime in the next half an hour,” she replied politely.

They waited, all of them getting more bored by the minute, when Owen felt the warmth of rift activity before Tosh’s PDA beeped.

“It’s coming through,” she announced.

They all felt its approach and they were all moving before Tosh called out a warning.  Owen found himself face down in the stinking field as something thundered and burned behind him.

In the quiet that followed he got up to see a knobbly cone five meters high buried not far away.  As the regrouped a panel sprung open and an orange skinned alien fell out.

“Vorias sheal,” the creature croaked before collapsing.

Instinct had Owen running towards the alien before he could think.  It was female and covered with injuries from the crash.

He looked into the vessel to see two more in similar states.  He checked over the female in front of him quickly and realised his mistake.

“Get back it looks like they have some kind of infection,” Owen called and heard the others halt a short way away from him.

Jack, who had been beside him when he realised what they were dealing with, began giving orders as Owen made his strange patient comfortable.  The Captain then cautiously inside the vessel with him, knowing that if there was a communicable infection it wouldn’t make much difference to him now, and helped him get the other aliens out.

Suzie, Toshiko and Mark emptied the SUV and Owen’s car of all the medical equipment and supplies while donning masks and gloves.  Owen took samples from the three aliens, himself and Jack and labelled them to be taken back to the Hub.

The Captain erected a makeshift tent over them out of tarpaulin and the insides of the ship until Suzie and Toshiko could return with more equipment and a proper biohazard tent.  Mark was going to stay in the Hub and begin running tests on the samples.

Owen used the various scanners from the SUV to perform what tests he could while being unsure of the alien’s physiology.  Jack went into the ship to see what he could find out about them and where they came from.

The medic could have hugged Tosh when he realised she had left him two PDA’s with links to the Hub’s mainframe, one for using the database the other for sending test results back to be added to those Mark was processing.

When the girls returned in full Hazmat gear they set up a proper containment tent and Tosh began work straight away setting up all his equipment for him.

Owen took more blood samples from all of them and confirmed at the same time as Mark that the disease was not communicable to human beings.  However by then it was impossible to move their patients further without harming them.

The Medic took more samples and headed back to the Hub leaving the aliens in Toshiko’s care.  She was a competent enough medic to keep them comfortable and a brilliant enough scientist to run any further tests he required.

Owen had already established that the alien’s immune systems were not coping with this illness.  He had seen enough from the results to know where to start to find a cure but it was a question of insuring it wouldn’t kill his patients.

It took two days of solid work before Owen and Mark got a break through.  They had learnt enough to keep the aliens alive while they ran their tests and by the third morning they were confident enough to test the vaccine.

Then it was a waiting game.  Mark stayed in the Hub in case something went wrong with the first test and they had to start again.  Tosh stayed with Owen in case he had to go back while Jack and Suzie left to deal with some Weevils.

An hour after the vaccine was administered to the first alien, the female that spoke to them, she began to improve.  An hour after that she made enough improvement for Owen to inject the other two with the vaccine.

A few hours later there the Torchwood team brought the aliens back to the Hub to complete their recovery.  Two day later they were awake and began communicating.

They were the Milon and had been sent into space in search of a cure for the plague when they were caught by the Rift.  Jack negotiated a peaceful agreement and helped the aliens repair their craft and helped them go home with the cure they had been looking for.

Mark got his reward for good work, a night with Captain Jack Harkness.  He and Owen stayed friends and neither man chose to feel awkward about their drunken mistake; that was Torchwood after all and the botanist wasn’t destined to stay for long.

Four months later Torchwood encountered a sentient species of humanoid tree.  They needed help and Mark discovered it was an appeal greater to his heart than all Jack’s bedroom prowess.

He departed from Earth to another planet on good terms with the Torchwood Team.  He made Jack proud and the Captain missed him until the next great arse caught his eye.

The encounter with the Milon had changed Owen too.  He went home alone the night they left without any need of Jack’s praise.

He had helped save an entire species from death.  He had known nothing about them a week ago but he had saved them, the team had saved them.

Since joining Torchwood he had discovered he much preferred working with dead patience.  They never put him under pressure to save them.

Every now and then though, he realised, he needed to work on someone living.  Healing was his vocation of choice and Doctor Owen Harper could heal like no other person on the Earth.


	28. Chapter Twenty-seven

As Ianto Jones emerged from the lower levels Jack pushed the button that halted the stopwatch.  He watched the Welshman on CCTV as he went around gathering up reports and equipment.

Toshiko exchanged friendly words with him and ignored Suzie stony silence as he took items from her out-tray.  Owen helped pile him up and rattled off a long list of things that the Welshman began to make mental notes of.

Ianto returned to the lower levels and Jack started the stopwatch again.

The others were gone when Ianto emerged and Jack stopped the watch.  He gathered up mugs and headed for the kitchen before returning to the main area with a rubbish sack.

Rubbish gathered, surfaces cleaned, washing up done and the Welshman headed back to the lower levels with the sack for recycling.  Jack re-activated the stopwatch.

Jack stopped the watch as Ianto emerged and headed for the kitchen once more.  The immortal let out a sigh as he heard the coffee maker begin the final brew of the day.

The captain looked at the watch.  Of the twelve hours Ianto had been here today he had spent seven hours, eighteen minutes and thirty-four seconds in the lower levels.

He put the stopwatch in his pocket as Ianto entered his office with two coffees and sat in the chair opposite.  Jack watched as the archivist rolled his back muscles to get out the kinks with his eyes shut.

The Welshman looked the most relaxed he had been all day.  It didn’t help Jack’s seduction plans or his concern as the boss that, as Ianto opened his eyes, he had the slight air about him of a child, waiting for a story as his reward for being good.

“Thank you for that information you gathered for me earlier, it was very detailed,” Jack said to break the silence.

“Part of the job sir.  I like to be thorough,” the Welshman replied hiding his pleased smile behind a sip of coffee.

In order to distract Ianto from his plan to make him the Tourist Office’s official operator Jack had asked for details of everyone in the local government. He made a fuss about not knowing who was in charge anymore which was partially true as he usually left that sort of thing to Suzie.

Just before the afternoon coffee break he received an e-mail from Ianto with a list of the names he wanted.  There was also a link to a database that had to have come from London though whether it was Torchwood One or Ianto’s Jack couldn’t say.

In the database was not only the details of the local council and member of the Senedd but all UK, Scottish and  European MP’s Army, Navy, Air Force and Unit Officers along with the details of their aides, civil servants, local police officers and other influential people in Britain and the world.

‘Details’ didn’t just mean names, dates of birth and addresses.  It meant everything from school reports and bank details to police and MI5 records.

“You know I should probably make you my PA for whenever I have meetings.  You are obviously much more in touch with local events than I am and could prevent me from getting things wrong and stepping on people’s toes,” Jack suggested.

“I would be happy to help Sir,” he replied.  “You could probably do with a police liaison too.  I know Tosh monitors police communications to be on alert for anything that we should deal with but what about the less urgent stuff?

“There are probably incidents that people only tell the police in person because they don’t understand them or think they may be called a loony.  Things the police come across on their own that they don’t want on official record but are probably written down somewhere,” Ianto suggested.

“Suzie usually handles that sort of thing,” Jack replied.

“Ah,” Ianto replied with understanding but he suddenly became withdrawn too.

Jack watched the Welshman become tense and alert.  He put his coffee down and appeared to be waiting for the opportunity to leave where moments before he had been prepared to stay and talk.

He had hoped that after a few days the tension between Ianto and Suzie would have calmed down.  It saddened Jack every time he saw her stonewalling the young man.

“Come with me,” Jack ordered suddenly, not wanting to reveal his surprise in the Hub.  It was ridiculous that the mention of one person could make his home feel hostile.

Jack put down his coffee half finished and led Ianto to the invisible lift.  Part of him wanted to go to a roof, show him the beauty of the city but the last skyscraper the Welshman had stood in had been destroyed by Daleks and Cybermen.

He watched Ianto roll his back muscles again as they rose through the pavement and he looked freer. The immortal then led them to a spot in the bay where it was easy to turn and see all the lights. 

The Welshman though looked out towards the bay.  His eyes were far away and the wind played with his hair making him seem less real, more temporary, like he was only to be Jack’s a short while before leaving like a fey creature of legend.

“You know I thought about what you said this morning,” Jack began wanting to snatch Ianto back from the wind and water.

“Huh,” the young man replied turning to him.

“The Tourist Office.  I thought about what you said and I think it’s a good idea so I made all the arrangements.  You are now an official member of the Welsh Tourist Board staring tomorrow.

“You and Tosh will begin by increasing the security in the office and sorting out the computer’s secure connection to Hub.  As much of your computer work as possible will be done there now, that includes Torchwood’s accounts,” Jack said and got a smile from the Welshman.

“On Thursday and Friday you will be going to your seminar.  I know it doesn’t start until Ten but there’s no point in you coming in beforehand but you will come in afterwards do a little work,” Jack added.

He hadn’t been sure about that part of Ianto’s suggestion.  Most of the work Jack had been doing today had been geared towards organising things so he didn’t have to go.

Ianto’s reaction to the mention of Suzie made him change his mind.  Now he felt it was for the best that they had a break from each other, give Jack time to talk to his second-in-command without the Welshman there.

“I don’t have to go to the seminar I’m sure we can work around it,” Ianto offered knowing what it was that had made Jack hesitate in the first place.

“Not at all, I want you to seem as legitimate and genuine as possible,” Jack replied and the Welshman looked away back to the sea.

“I thought you’d be pleased,” the immortal said concerned.

“I am sir,” Ianto replied quickly turning to him with a reassuring smile.  “I just don’t want to put you out with something so trivial.  What if a case came up?”

“We coped without you before last week we will do so again for two days.  We will have you with us in the evenings.  I don’t think there is that much rubbish we could generate,” Jack replied trying to make things light and got a smile.

“Thank you sir,” Ianto replied with the happiness of the reassured.

The Welshman turned his attention back to the water once more.  This time Jack could tell his mind was whirring with what needed to be done to put their plans into action and the immortal felt himself relax.

He no longer felt like Ianto was a fey creature that would slip his grasp.  With one gesture Jack had tied him firmly to Torchwood and he had no intention of letting go any time soon.


	29. Chapter Twenty-eight

Thursday could not happen soon enough for Ianto Jones.  The thought filled him with tension and excitement that it was hard to retain his calm and contained mask.

He had fun working with Tosh giving the Tourist Office an overhaul.  They gotten to know each other a little better, although both remained reserved and cautious enough to hold something back.

Owen had started thinking of him as an information resource.  He also came up with suggestions for medical databases like those used in hospitals which were to be updated regularly from scientific papers as well as one for alien species.

While Torchwood already had such a database some of the improvements were valid, including making it easier for none medical personnel to use it, and the two of them worked with Tosh to make Owen’s version a reality.

Suzie’s ignoring him no longer bothered Ianto either.  He knew Jack wouldn’t go to all this trouble of he was going to be sacked anytime soon.

Besides, after Thursday Ianto’s biggest worry would be over.

On Tuesday Ianto snuck out of the archives using the route he intended to take when he brought Lisa in.  He got to the industrial estate and accepted delivery of the fork lift truck he had hired at one of the other warehouses.

The Welshman knew there was no way that he would be able to use it to place her in the room itself but the less time she spent out of her life support the better.  The fork lift was just able to take the weight of Lisa and the converter.

On Wednesday under the pretext of running all the last minute errands before his two days away, Ianto collected the lorry he had hired to deliver Lisa to the hidden entrance.  He was fortunate that a rift alarm had sounded in his absence and he was able to contain his excited shaking before they returned.

The rift incident took longer than expected and he didn’t get to leave the Hub until midnight.  He also missed his nightly chat with Jack as the Captain sent him home while the others were finishing off.

Ianto headed to his lodgings and changed into his track suit before heading for the warehouse.  He was so nervous he didn’t realised that he hadn’t checked for people watching him until he arrived.

He woke Lisa and she helped guide him through how to pack the equipment into the lorry.  Using the fork lift Ianto then loaded her in last of all.

The roads were practically deserted as he drove to the concealed entrance to the tunnels.  He unloaded Lisa first and drove her in as far as he could go.

He had brought the portable generator and lights just in case the power didn’t connect this far out or was detectable.  Ianto listened to Lisa’s instructions carefully as she told him exactly what needed to be done to disassemble and reassemble her converter safely.

He sipped from a flask of coffee as he listened knowing that this could take all night and he didn’t want to make any mistakes.

It was eight in the morning when Ianto finished and Lisa was fully installed in her new home.  It left him only an hour and a half to shower, change and get to his seminar.

Instead he stayed with her a little while longer making sure she was as comfortable as possible.  He took the suit he had brought with him and decided to risk using one of Torchwood’s out of the way bathrooms.

Ianto returned to the fork lift and the lorry and took them back to the warehouse site.  He then headed back to town for his seminar and arrived ten minutes late.

As he sat, a sense of euphoria spread over him.  He felt light headed from relief and lack of sleep and was glad to be surrounded by strangers who didn’t know this wasn’t quite him.

Using a mental technique he had learnt at Torchwood One Ianto re-ordered his mind as he sat in the lecture hall.  Part of him was listening and taking in every word, while the other part of him slept.

Ianto was roused from his half sleep by the movement of people around him.  He became fully awake in time to be reminded that the afternoon would involve a walking tour of central Cardiff.

The Welsh Tourist Board were generous enough to provide lunch and Ianto made sure he drank plenty of coffee.  He wanted an energy drink too but last time he had one when he was this tired he’d become outrageously flirty.

The walking tour, or rather the company on the tour, did help to blow away some of the cobwebs.  The group he was with were mostly young or young at heart and he enjoyed being with them despite feeling like a cuckoo.

When the tour had finished he excused himself from their offer to all go out for a drink citing other obligations, which was true.  He returned to the Hub and began his work, making sure he took the first opportunity he had to check up on Lisa.

Tonight during their after work coffee Jack surprised Ianto by asking about his day.  Given his tiredness that was a good thing as he was sure if the Captain had told one of his stories it would have relaxed him into sleep.

Instead he told Jack all about the interesting characters at the seminar and what he had learnt.  The older man absorbed every word as though fascinated by this tiny glimpse of normal life.

It made Ianto feel guilty for manipulating Jack into giving him the time away to help Lisa, made him feel guilty for playing on the Captain’s _interest_ in him.

The Welshman felt exhausted by the time he finished telling his tale.  It was so tempting just to stay where he was and close his eyes but he couldn’t afford to show weakness in front of the Captain.

He left and returned to his lodgings automatically not realising he had done so until he arrived.  There he resisted Morpheus’ call towards his bed and changed to return to the Hub.

He let himself in through one of the forgotten entrances and headed down to Lisa’s room. 

As soon as he saw Lisa all Ianto’s feelings of guilt concerning Jack disappeared.  He loved her so much he had to save her.

Besides the Captain was a connoisseur of beauty.  Surely if the situation was explained he would want to help Lisa, Ianto just didn’t want to compromise Jack’s sense of duty by making him choose.

Ianto checked that everything was still working properly after the move before sitting down in the chair beside her to wait for her to wake.  He sighed and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again it was seven o’clock in the morning.

He hurriedly ensured all was well before heading out of the Hub the way he came.  He returned to his lodgings to change and left without breakfast.

Ianto returned to the warehouse where he had kept Lisa and scoured it until he was sure he had removed every trace that they had been there.  He finished with enough time to drive the fork lift truck back to the other warehouse for the hire company to collect it.

Finally Ianto drove the lorry back to the rental company before arriving just in time for his second seminar.  He sat there listening to a man talk about the fascinating sights in Cardiff with the same passion as a Gospel Preacher feeling like a faithful parishioner.

His heart was light for the first time since Canary Wharf.  Lisa was safely inside the Hub and, just as important should something go wrong, hopefully Cardiff was safe from her too.

 


	30. Chapter Twenty-nine

Beneath her cool calm exterior Suzie Costello was livid.

A few days ago she had thought that her campaign against Ianto Jones had been going well.  She was sure she sensed an air of despondency around the man as he delivered his coffee and she ignored him.

Toshiko was the only one to spoil her efforts by paying the man any attention.  Owen had been ignoring him and even Jack seemed to have lost interest and was barely speaking to him.

The next day though proved her utterly wrong.  Ianto and Tosh were working to increase the security in the Tourist Office and chatting like old friends.

Then Owen had a long talk with Ianto and the next day the three of them were huddled over Tosh’s terminal getting very excited.  They were obviously planning a surprise for Jack if the conspiratorial looks passed between the Medic and Technical Genius were anything to go by.

Most irritating of all was that Ianto no longer seemed despondent.  Suddenly he had an air of serenity that even the most outrageous or menial task she gave the Welshman no longer bothered him.

Of course there had to be more to it than Owen’s changes to the medical database.  Something was up that all of them knew about except her.

On Thursday Suzie didn’t notice Ianto’s absence at first.  She thought Tosh and Jack’s slightly down air was because of the late night they had on Wednesday.

It wasn’t until Owen went out for a coffee run that she realised Ianto wasn’t there.  For a whole five minutes she sat glorying in her success at having gotten rid of him.

She knew though that that wasn’t true.  The others looked to normal for Ianto to have resigned, Tosh would have been more upset and Owen gossipy.

So Suzie made her way to Jack’s office.  She felt an apprehension she hadn’t experienced since those early days and that made her feel angry.

“So where’s Ianto?” she asked wincing at the interrogative note in her voice and closed the door behind her.

“He is at a seminar held by Welsh Tourist Board about Cardiff.  We needed a better cover in the office upstairs and now that we have someone who isn’t going to be always in the field, or conducting experiments down here, Ianto’s ideal.

“He will do his computer work upstairs from now on and guard our main entrance.  Before you ask, his salary from the Tourist Board with be deducted from his Torchwood salary,” Jack replied with a pleased smile.

“Surely he didn’t need to go gallivanting off to an all day seminar,” she asked her eyebrows raised.

“He will back this afternoon and no he didn’t but I thought he should.  Let the atmosphere clear a bit,” Jack said it calmly but his eyes glittered dangerously as he looked at her.

“I know my recruitment policy is a little eccentric and my choices don’t always have the purist of motives but you’ve always welcomed them, gotten to know them, helped them settle in.

“From what I can tell after that conversation in the garage where he showed you up, you haven’t spoken two words to him that weren’t orders.  In fact your longest conversations are probably regarding your choice of lunch.

“You know if you have a problem I’m always available to talk about it,” he offered.

 _I want you to fire Ianto_ , she thought but she didn’t say it.  Suzie knew that if she asked Jack to get rid of him he’s want a good reason why and she didn’t have one.

In terms of his conduct Ianto was always very polite and efficient.  The fact that he started before and left after the rest of them suggested a workaholic’s mentality.

On Tuesday she had gone down to the archives to look for something.  While she couldn’t find Ianto in the labyrinth, there was evidence everywhere of the improvements he had made to the place, improvements that helped her find what she was looking for without him.

She also couldn’t cite unprofessional behaviour because he was having sex with the boss.  Partly because Suzie hadn’t raised any objections to the others Jack had slept with.

There was also the fact that Jack and Ianto weren’t having sex.  It had taken her longer than the other two to realise, but she could see that the Captain didn’t have the smugness of the recently shagged.

Instead he had a predatory air about him.  Jack was caught up in the thrill of the chase and it was one he didn’t want to end any time soon.

It seemed like Jack was determined to keep Ianto and that made Suzie determined to get rid of him.  She couldn’t openly confront him about it as that wouldn’t work.

“No there’s nothing wrong I just haven’t had much to talk to him about,” Suzie replied trying to make her answer light.

Jack looked at her with disappointment knowing full well that she had lied.

“Well like I said if you ever do have a problem you know you can talk to me but Ianto is here to stay.  Now I can’t order you to become best friends but I will ask that you make an effort to get on better.  So could you stop the passive bullying, please?”

It was the gentleness in Jack’s tone that hurt most of all.  Suzie left without answering and went straight to her desk.

Although they couldn’t have heard anything, she could tell that Owen and Tosh knew she had gotten a dressing down.  She felt angry and hated Ianto for humiliating her a second time.

When the Welshman did arrive Suzie noticed a change in the atmosphere immediately.  She had been wondering how lost her cause was with the others and now she knew.

Their response was fuelled either by friendship or to an addiction to the coffee which, despite all the samples she taken and tested, remained innocent.

The Welshman ignored her glare with silent efficiency before moving on.  Suzie watched as Ianto delivered his nectar to the coffee worshipers with decreasing hope of their support. 

Both of the others gave Ianto distracted “thank you”s as he put the beverages down. That hurt because, while she expected such politeness from Toshiko, Owen rarely was civil.

She couldn’t see the exchange with Jack although it was brief.  Suzie didn’t want to risk staring because she knew the Captain was watching her.

It puzzled her a little that the Welshman spent most of his time in a hidden out of the way location while Jack remained in his office.  Was he finally trying subtly or was there another reason for him to wait?

When the others left Suzie chose to conceal herself.  She wanted to know what was going on between the two men that she didn’t know about; and how she could use it to get rid of Ianto.

Suzie watched Ianto emerge and head for the kitchen.  He returned with coffees and sat down opposite Jack.

She crept close enough to hear what they were talking about and was surprised to hear Ianto describing the people on his stupid course.  The look on Jack’s face as he listened was one of smitten rapture.

Sickened, Suzie turned away.  Jack wasn’t just after a quick shag, it was something more he wanted and what was worse, she didn’t think the captain realised it.

She collected what she needed and headed for the invisible lift.  Suzie didn’t think that either man even noticed.

As she reached the top Suzie got out her phone.  There was only one way short of murder to get rid of Ianto Jones now, and she knew just the man for the job.


	31. Chapter Thirty

With the exception of his beloved Lisa, Ianto Jones had hoped that he had put Canary Wharf behind him.  His life became about working for Torchwood and Lisa, so he didn’t notice how quickly he was becoming a ghost.

He quickly learnt the ways of the others, Owen’s sarcastic bile was that of someone who cared but couldn’t always help.  Tosh’s quiet was part of her dedication, her drive to make a difference.

After two weeks of their making an effort to thank him, they were so used to him, relied on him to have what they needed before they asked, that he became as invisible as any good butler should be.

That was what he wanted, what he needed to keep Lisa safe, but it hurt.  Ianto had never been a centre of attention but he had always been noticed before.

The friendships he had been afraid of forming began to feel false.  It reaffirmed Ianto’s belief that he was in hell paying the price needed to save Lisa.

He had established a routine in the Hub that helped, changed only by Rift activity and the investigations that his researches directed the others too.

Ianto would arrive at the Hub at seven and make Jack his first coffee.  He would then tidy up, gather files and artefacts to take to the archives, feed the prisoners and pterodactyl and do an inventory of their supplies.

Between ten and four he manned the tourist office working on his researches and the reports backlog, taking breaks only to get the team coffee, lunch or to run errands like getting supplies or the Captain’s laundry.

After four he officially closed the Tourist Office and headed down to work in the archives.  Always under the pretence of cataloguing he would sneak off to see Lisa for a while.

At seven Ianto would return to the Hub to find everyone else had left.  He would do some more tidying up before making Jack his last coffee and stayed with him to talk.

He returned to his lodgings, do whatever he needed to and then sneak back into the Hub to check that Lisa was okay before falling asleep by her side.

Sometimes when he woke he had time to return to his lodging to change, sometimes he would get ready in the Hub and sneak out before officially arriving for work.  An advantage of being in charge of the cleaning was that he could erase all evidence of what he had been doing.

After four weeks the splendour and idyll of Torchwood One had faded like a dream.  This cursed life was his existence; he accepted it, embraced it, for Lisa, and severed all other ties.

It was therefore a shock to him, as he returned from his usual supply run, to hear his name called out by an unknown female voice.

It was going to be Ianto’s day for surprises and he turned automatically towards the first.  As soon as he looked he knew who had spoken and he dropped his bags.

She didn’t look scary, she just looked like a woman of about sixty.  Her hair was gray, almost white; her face worn by troubles and in her eyes there was a spark of desperate madness.

“Claudia Timmons,” Ianto whispered.

“That infamous memory of yours.  I selected you well,” she said her voice croaking with age or disuse.

She had selected him well, she had been a Torchwood One HR Officer and she was only thirty seven years old.  Claudia had accompanied Bev Stanley during his interviews for his position in Information Retrieval with a smug, knowing smile on her face.

He had only had five conversations with her since; his three month review where she offered him a place on the psychic research program and when he accepted, when he began working with the Archive department on a more official basis, when he handed in his letter telling his bosses saying that he didn’t want to use his psychic ability outside of the experiment and once at a Christmas Party when she’d gotten drunk and tried to chat him up before Lisa swooped in to rescue him.

Panic filled him, what was she doing here?  Did they know about Lisa?  Was she with the authorities that questioned him after the battle who made him feel like he should be imprisoned for surviving?

“They don’t know you’re here you covered your tracks well,” she said as if reading his mind.  “All the scientists and soldiers have been swept up by UNIT.  They’re not interested in us, we don’t have any value to them.

“I needed a challenge and as you were the only one to disappear.  I remembered though that you have family near here I was hoping...”

“Don’t you go anywhere near my family,” Ianto growled.

“I haven’t.  I wasn’t looking for them, I was looking for you and I knew you wouldn’t go near them.  You hid them well too.  I relied on my memory, on chance,” she said her voice gaining strength and yet it sounded like she was fading.

“Why were you looking for me?” Ianto asked unable to think of any reason that didn’t involve the authorities, people that hopefully Jack could protect him from.

“Like I said I needed a challenge, something to do and you were hard to find.  I need someone to talk to, someone who understands, someone... I don’t know.

“I was in bloody HR.  I wasn’t supposed to get involved with Daleks and Cybermen.  Now I don’t sleep because of nightmares about them all the time.

“You know I lost my family.  They weren’t killed in the battle I just lost them because of Torchwood.

“I went home after they finished interrogating me and they weren’t there.  My husband and daughter and moved on weeks ago and I didn’t notice.

“I found them, knew I could make it up to them, persuade them to take me back but I couldn’t.  You understand I couldn’t,” she asked gripping his shoulders and appealing to him.

“Yes I understand,” he told her trying not to choke on the alcohol on her breath.

She seemed to notice then that he was wearing a suit.  Claudia looked at him properly for the first time.

“You have a job,” she stated.

“Yes I was just on a supply run, getting my bosses’ laundry,” Ianto replied.

“That’s good I hear that helps.  No one wants to employ someone from HR who’s prematurely aged and keeps thinking those she meets are far too young,” she told him bitterly.  “You are too young.  You were so bright and shining I knew we had to have you.  I tarnished and condemned you.”

“Joining Torchwood was my choice,” Ianto pointed out.

“But how could you know?  What do the young care about danger?  If they haven’t experienced it, it doesn’t touch them.  I should have known for you, kept you away.”

“I wasn’t supposed to encounter Daleks and Cybermen either.  Blindness to danger through inexperience isn’t confined to the young,” Ianto told her gently.

“I should let you get back to work,” Claudia said and part of Ianto agreed and part of him knew she wasn’t in a fit state to be left alone.

“Can we meet up later?” she asked and without hesitation Ianto told her the name of a pub he would meet her in at eight.

He felt dazed as he entered the Tourist Office and went down into the Hub.  He managed to put the groceries away before being accosted by Jack on his way to restock one of the supply cupboards.

“Who was that woman?” he demanded with concern.

Ianto didn’t bother to question how Jack knew.  He was late so the Captain would check where he was.

“Her name’s Claudia Timmons, she’s the one who recruited me for Torchwood One,” Ianto replied after a pause still feeling shaken.

“What did she want?  Did she hurt you?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know what she wants.  She asked if we could meet at eight to talk,” Ianto replied and the both knew that wasn’t quite true.

While Claudia had asked to talk there was something else in her request.  She was not coping with the aftermath, she had no one to turn to or rely on.

Ianto was probably the least important of the survivors.  He was a challenge to find that was why she sort him out, to give herself a reason to keep going one more day

“Of course I’ll make sure you can get to your meeting,” Jack said placing his hands reassuringly on Ianto’s shoulders mirroring they way Claudia had, he had figured out the unsaid answers for himself.

“You know I never thought about what happened to the others,” the Captain said suddenly.

“It wasn’t your problem sir,” Ianto replied.

“That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have been my concern.  I just didn’t want to think about it.  Not even employing you seems to have changed that,” Jack added bitterly.

“I didn’t want to think about Canary Wharf either sir,” Ianto replied honestly and now he knew he couldn’t stop.

“I should get back to work,” the Welshman said and the Captain nodded letting go, knowing exactly what work Ianto had, tracing the other Torchwood One survivors.

As they parted neither man noticed Suzie Costello slip from the shadows towards the garage, ready to put her plan into action.


	32. Chapter Thirty-one

Ianto Jones had tracked down eighteen of the other survivors down so far.  Thirteen as Claudia had suggested had joined UNIT, three had killed themselves and two had been committed to psychiatric care by those left in charge of the aftermath.  He recognised both names from the psychic research program.

The sound of the door opening interrupted him and he switched his computer to Tourist Mode automatically.

“Can I help you?” he asked looking up in time to see a cocky confident smile fade.

For the second time that day, Ianto was surprised by his past.  He hadn’t seen the young man before him for three years.

He was the younger brother of a friend, Simon, and it was at his baby’s christening they had last met when they both became the girl’s godfather.

Afterwards they talked about what they wanted to do.  Ianto was going to London with some mates to look for work and the, then, gangly teenager was intending to study hard because he wanted to go to University.  Then they talked about Simon’s big decision that had been put on hold for the baby. 

“It’s Evan isn’t it? How are Simon and the family?” Ianto asked.

The disbelief and shock in Evan’s eyes turned to horror.  A nineteen year old student should never have that look in their eyes.

“No, no, no,” Evan said and turned and fled.

“Sir I have to go out on a personal errand,” Ianto said into his earpiece before taking it out and leaving it on the counter.

He was conscientious enough to turn the sign on the door to ‘closed’ and activated the locks before racing after Evan.

This wasn’t like Claudia this morning.  Ianto knew Evan, knew he shouldn’t know any of the horrors of life, knew he shouldn’t have any reason for going into the Tourist Office.

When Ianto returned to Cardiff it wasn’t just his family he was protecting by keeping away.  He protected his friends too.  He completely dropped off the radar, not even communicating by e-mail; he didn’t want them touched by his darkness.

Evan had no need for tourist information.  He should have no reason to know that the office was cover for Torchwood.  Ianto was the only reason he had for going in, yet the shocked surprise said that he didn’t know.

Ianto cursed his decision to jog instead of run when he was visiting Lisa in the warehouse.  It took him a moment to get into his proper stride but Evan never left his sight.

It was obvious that the young man was panicking as they ran down a street of houses.  After four streets Ianto was catching up and Evan slowed to a stop.

The Welshman stopped a few feet from the younger man.  They both caught their breath before Evan looked at him with a resigned look that also pleaded for forgiveness.

Ianto schooled his face to prevent himself from frowning.  Evan had no reason to fear him and should be in no need of forgiveness.

It seemed strange to Ianto how easy it was to slip from one guise to another.  Evan needed his help so he became the boy he had once been.

Ianto never realised how much he had been the centre of his circle of friends, after all Peter was much better at that sort of thing.  He did know that he was always the one his friends went to then they had a problem or needed advice.

He remembered Simon coming to him just over three and half years ago.  He had come to a realisation and wanted Ianto’s advice and support and was given both to his friend freely. 

“Come on I’ll make us a cup of tea and we’ll talk,” Ianto said gently and moved passed Evan inviting him to follow.

The boy nodded and turned to walk beside him.  Ianto headed for his lodgings, partly for the privacy and partly to keep him away from Torchwood.

As they reached the end of the street they heard running footsteps.  Evan tensed and Ianto laid a reassuring hand on his arm as he turned to see who it was.

He had known without looking that it would be Jack.  Whether it was the possessive interest he had in Ianto, or the fact that he had run off in the middle of the working day, the Welshman didn’t care.

Ianto used his eyes to warn Jack to slow and see how distressed Evan was.  The Captain did and silently took up position on the young man’s other side.

It surprised Ianto a little that instead of remaining tense Evan relaxed a little beneath his fingers.  He let go and continued walking wondering why the young man felt they needed a chaperone.

He wasn’t expecting his land lady to be in when he returned to his lodgings.  She gave them slightly disapproving looks that suggested the kitchen was a no go area as she was cleaning it.

“Mrs. Llewellyn, Evan has had a bit of a shock would it be okay if I make us some tea?” Ianto asked feeling very young beneath her gaze.

She looked at once towards the teenager and her attitude changed.

“You go see the young man’s alright and I’ll bring your tea up,” she said with a firm voice that would allow no protest.

Ianto yielded and it wasn’t until they reached his room that it occurred to him that he had never intended to let Jack see his bed.  Evan though was trembling a little and such thoughts became unimportant.

“It’s only temporary until my place is ready,” Ianto said in explanation to both men, trying lighten things as he sat Evan on the bed before taking a chair beside him.

Jack stood by the door.  He knew the Captain was feeling a bit like an intruder, but he had invited himself and when he made an attempt to go it was Evan who insisted he stayed.

“I remember when I was a kid I used to follow Simon when he went to the park to play.  I’m not sure he wanted his little brother following him but you told him not to be mean and let me stay,” Evan said as Mrs. Llewellyn entered with the tea tray.

Ianto distributed the mugs putting the correct amount of milk and sugar in each.  He was careful of keep a distance between him and Evan as the young man seemed so afraid of him.

“I remember that I always used to like it when you were team captain.  You would pick a few of your friends and some good players but you always picked the people no one wanted before they became the last choices.

“If anyone complained you never picked them again.  I always remember when Bronwyn got her goal I don’t think she’d ever felt that kind of pride before and you gave that to her.

“All your friends were so different.  I never understood what you saw in Simon until he made his announcement.

“He told you first didn’t he, asked your advice,” Evan stated looking expectantly at Ianto.

“Yes he wasn’t sure what to tell Vicki, wanted to make sure it was okay with me.  I said it didn’t matter as long as he was happy,” Ianto replied.

“It didn’t matter to Vicki either did it, in fact I think she was looking forward to it.  When she found out she was pregnant she didn’t want him to put off his plans.

“Simon insisted though, said that the thing about being a father was that your child comes before your own selfish desires.  Vicki said it wasn’t selfish it was who he was but Simon told her that he couldn’t make the change if he felt like he had robbed something from his child’s future.

“When Ellie was born she told him she was glad he had put it off.  Not because she didn’t want him to change but because she could tell they both wanted more children and having them now would be easier and cheaper than doing it afterwards,” Evan said with a smile on his face.

“You kind of disappeared I don’t suppose you knew Vicki’s pregnant again,” Evan said with a smile.

“No I didn’t, I must write to congratulate him,” Ianto replied smiling too.

Evan turned to him seriously and Ianto knew that the childhood reminiscences, talking about his brother were just his security blanket, his comfort before he faced what was troubling him.

The nineteen year old took a deep breath and turned slightly away before lifting up his t-shirt and revealing the damage beneath.


	33. Chapter Thirty-two

“Jack first aid kit, bottom of the wardrobe, now,” Ianto ordered and was obeyed instantly.

The Captain didn’t question the paramedic sized medical kit, nor did he pause to feel pleased that Ianto had called him Jack for the first time.  All he thought was that, what Evan had been hiding beneath his shirt was so wrong.

“Evan how far down do they go?” Ianto asked gently and received a sob in return.

“It’s alright,” the Welshman added softly and turned the young man away from him.

Evan understood what Ianto wanted and with a slight pause undid his jeans let them and his underwear drop in shame.  The boy’s shoulders were shaking as Jack handed over the first aid kit.

Ianto said nothing.  He touched Evan’s shoulder reassuringly until the younger man’s shaking stopped a little.

“Shall I get some water?” Jack asked seeing for himself that some of the cuts on the young man’s back had been bleeding.

Evan tensed immediately and Ianto’s reassuring touch did nothing.  The younger man turned to him in appeal.

“I’ll get it.  Do want Jack to stay?” Ianto asked and Evan relaxed a little and nodded.

The Welshman moved swiftly away.  He touched Jack’s arm as he passed to convey his thanks and the immortal nodded.

“You will look after him won’t you?” Evan asked catching the Captain by surprise.

“I didn’t... I don’t... she really hates him,” Evan whispered just before Ianto returned.

The Welshman put the bowl of warm water next to the first aid kit.  He rang out the cloth and began to carefully wash Evan’s back.

There were bruise marks from just above his knees to half way down his back.  To Jack’s expert eye they were made by a repeated canings using too much force, the last one only hours ago.

The cuts were from a lash, probably one designed to let a little blood to spice things up, but again there were too many and the most recent had been allowed to bleed without being cared for afterwards.

Ianto stood and moved slightly away to appear non-threatening and said “Evan ...” trying to ask the question delicately not knowing that the one who did this was a woman.

Before Jack could say anything the young man sobbed out a “Yes.” Again a reassuring hand touched Evan’s shoulder one for a moment before Ianto knelt to gently inspect his anus. 

The Welshman looked at Jack obviously unsure what he was looking for.  The Captain did and breathed a sigh of relief for all of them that she hadn’t torn the boy.

Ianto took care of the cuts and bruises on Evan’s legs and arse before pulling up his boxers and jeans.  The young man took them and covered himself once more.

“It was just fun that’s all.  I enjoyed it, I wanted...” Evan said suddenly defensive.

“Oh I know what fun a little pain can be but that isn’t foreplay its abuse,” Jack told him firmly.

Evan curled up on himself but Ianto kept a reassuring hand on his shoulder as he guided him to sit on the bed.  The Welshman sent Jack a look of admonishment but there was no heat in it, he knew the Captain was right.

Jack watched them knowing it was utterly wrong to be turned on by the sight before him.  It had nothing to do with the injured boy and everything to do with Ianto.

There was such concentration on the Welshman’s face, such concern and tenderness as he tended the young man’s back.  For a jealous moment he wished he was the one injured, that such care was being given to him.

That surprised him a little.  He didn’t think of himself as needy, not in the needing someone to take care of him kind of way but seeing Ianto with Evan made him want that for himself.

Jack wasn’t the only one Ianto’s tenderness was having an effect on.  Evan had probably never even thought about being with a man before today but he leaned into the Welshman’s touches, and shot sly glances in his direction.

Evan’s back tended to, Ianto surveyed his front.  His front torso was less marked though his wrists had evidence of his being repeatedly restrained.

Ianto bandaged them carefully and Evan didn’t stop looking at him.  There were also needle tracks along the young man’s arm and the Welshman took a blood sample without protest.

His archivist looked at his boyhood friend expectantly as he replaced his shirt.  Evan shied away, blushing at his own arousal rather than turning with fear.

The front door bell rang and Evan started in surprise.  There was fear in his eyes again, fear of her.

“I called AM,” Ianto said softly.  “You know if you ever need to talk to me you can, but we both know AM can get you the help you need much better than I.

“Jack’s right what’s been done to you wasn’t done for your pleasure.  You know that or you wouldn’t have come to the Tourist Office today.

“I won’t ask what was demanded of you.  I won’t judge what might have happened if it had been someone else and not me,” Ianto said softly.

Evan began to cry again saying he was sorry over and over again.  Ianto opened his arms in invitation and the young man clung to him like the child he was.

The Welshman was careful not to touch his back only to hold his neck and shoulders with one hand and move with comforting strokes along his arm with the other.  He whispered reassurances that it was all going to be alright.

Jack no longer needed to ask who she was.  Ianto obviously had no need to ask either.

The boy had no reason to go to the Tourist Office.  Given how much he trusted Ianto and what had been done to Evan, Jack couldn’t believe it was one of their mutual friends.

He had given Jack the warning assuming he was one of Ianto’s new crowd or... or because she had mentioned his name to Evan.  That meant someone from Torchwood and only one person fit the description of her hate.

He felt a flare of anger at the implication, the Welshman’s words, confirmed by Evan’s tears.  The boy had been bullied into going to the office to assault Ianto and been shocked to find his brother’s friend and fled.

Jack couldn’t believe how vindictive she had become.  How she could use a boy rather than talk to him.

There was a quiet knock at the door and Jack turned to admit a young woman the same age as Ianto.  She nodded to him and moved briskly across to the other two men.

The Welshman looked at her and she nodded.  They both waited for Evan to stop crying on his own.

When Evan moved back, Jack knew the boy wanted to kiss Ianto.  Instead though he glanced at the Captain as if remembering his presence and stood back instead.

He nodded at AM and she led him away.  Evan glanced back at Ianto several times and Jack knew he had fallen for his carer.

As soon as the door closed on them Ianto’s face changed.  No longer gentle and tender he became hard and angry.

“Who does she think she is?  I know Torchwood holds itself above the law but even Hartman wouldn’t have allowed one of its own get away with such abuse.

“I know Suzie hates me but why would she take it out on Evan, he’s just a boy.  I know people think student life is easy but it isn’t not for people like him.

“Evan wanted to go to Cambridge, got the grades and everything but he couldn’t get a scholarship and his patents can’t afford to send him so he goes to University here.

“Simon was helping but he wants to be a woman and the only thing stopping him is his daughter, his unborn child and probably one that hasn’t been conceived yet because his wife has a fondness for threes.

“Evan wants a First that means a lot of hard work and a lot of pressure.  The last thing he needs is to be caught up in kinky revenge sex games.

“If she wanted me gone why didn’t she...”

The kiss caught even Jack by surprise.  He had been telling himself for weeks that he wanted Ianto to _kiss_ _him_ and this was hardly an appropriate moment to change his mind.

Yet he couldn’t help it.  The erotic scene of Ianto the carer, followed by such unknown fiery passion, and he was overcome with the need to stake his claim.

As he broke away Ianto stared at him with slightly bewildered eyes.  Jack moved in again and the Welshman didn’t resist him as he requested entry to his mouth, ran his hands over his back, pulling him close.

A phone sounded and Jack ignored it despite recognising it as his.  It has almost finished it’s annoying, interrupting tune before he broke away to answer it.

Toshiko was on the other end telling him about rift activity and an alien on the loose in a Cardiff suburb.  He watched as a dazed Ianto seemed to pull himself together and his professional mask slipped into place.

“I have to go alien sighting.  We’ll continue this later,” Jack told him half authoritative half apologetic.

“Yes Sir, I’ll go back to the Hub,” Ianto replied and Jack felt disappointed that he had gone back to being Sir.

Despite knowing he should go, Jack moved in for a third kiss.  It told Ianto that one of the things they would continue later was definitely going to be kissing.

Yet as Jack turned away and headed out of the door he had the feeling that the third kiss was their final one.


	34. Chapter Thirty-three

Ianto Jones watched Jack leave in a waft of pheromones.  Unconsciously he brought his hand up to his lips.

He relived the moment, Jack’s lips on his, his taste, the feel of arms around him and a hard on pressed against his hip.  For the length of three kisses Ianto forgot Canary Wharf, Lisa, Evan and the hell his life had become.

The last time he’d been properly kissed, not the pressing of lips he now exchanged, but full on snog with Lisa had been the morning of the battle.

It hadn’t even been a special or extraordinary kiss.  It had just been their customary kiss before they entered the Torchwood Tower which promised that they were on temporary loan to Torchwood and really belonged to each other.

That was over a month ago.

Jack’s kiss was completely unexpected.  He thought that after waiting four weeks the Captain had gotten bored and given up on him.

Maybe it was close proximity to a bed because Ianto had no idea what inspired Jack to kiss him now.  Nothing they had done in this room suggested kissing was appropriate.

The kiss was so different to Lisa’s, in both technique and feel.  The last time she had kissed him with such passion was on their anniversary.

With one moment everything had changed. 

Tonight he would go to Jack’s office but it wouldn’t be for coffee and conversation.  It would be for kisses and sex and Ianto wouldn’t be able to say no because he had offered no resistance just then, and refusal now would make Jack suspicious or worse seductive.

Ianto had wanted that second kiss, wanted to feel alive again after feeling half dead for so long and Jack would know that Ianto had wanted that kiss.

Oh, he had joked with Lisa, made light of Jack’s interest in him, evaded the Captain as long as he could but Ianto had always known that the price of saving his beloved was to become a whore.

Lisa would always have his heart and soul but his body now belonged to Jack.  He had been claimed at last.

He couldn’t tell her though.  He knew Lisa wouldn’t want him when she found out but her hope for their future was one of the things she kept going for.

It didn’t matter.  When Ianto realised the price he accepted that he would pay it anyway.  He promised to save Lisa, and he would, but only for her sake, no longer for him.

This wasn’t going to be like a Greek myth.  She was the one who was going to leave hell and he would be the one staying behind.

Ianto wasn’t aware of leaving his lodgings, thanking his land lady and returning to the Hub until he suddenly wondered what he was doing in Autopsy.

Then he remembered Evan’s blood sample.  He prepared and labelled it for Owen to test and wrote a note to the medic.

With the sample out of his hands he let himself feel the same anger and outrage that had flared up in his room.  _How dare she do that to a boy?_

Despite only being a few years older Ianto still saw Evan as a child.  He remembered his friend’s younger brother, destined for academia, University lecturing not school teacher, shy but sociable, he loved to play with others when he knew them.

The Jack Harkness style grin didn’t belong to Evan any more than the fear and horror did.  The trembling child whose wounds he tended, who he’d examined for signs of rape, was not the hopeful college kid he had talked to at the christening.

Ianto wondered what drugs Suzie had given him to change him.  That wasn’t a presumption of innocence; all the needle marks were on Evan’s left arm and he was left handed.

Ianto hated to think what would have happened if he hadn’t been the one in the Tourist Office.  If recognition hadn’t shocked him into rationality.  Not just for the intended victim but for Evan himself.

Placing him in AM’s care was for the best.  She could not only find a place for him to stay if he couldn’t face his parents or Simon, but she knew psychiatrists that would help him get over his ordeal.

He had told AM that the any expense would be taken care of as Evan was too old to benefit from the Trust.  Ianto hadn’t thought then of yet another burden to his rapidly decreasing funds, but now he had the feeling Jack would foot the bill.

Ianto couldn’t wait to see her face when Suzie found out that her plan had failed.  How would she react when Jack confronted her?

The Welshman found himself frozen in fear.

Being bullied by Suzie ignoring him was bad enough, but now she had tried to have him physically assaulted.  What if she decided to forgo the subtle approach and put a bullet between his eyes?

Evan was safe, hidden by AM but what of Lisa?  When he was logged as deceased a message would pop up to tell Jack all about her, would he help save her or destroy her?

Ianto didn’t want to die.  He had to save Lisa, he had promised even if the living together happily ever after was no longer on the cards.

A screech from over head made him jump.  It took Ianto a moment to realise it was the pterodactyl but it shook the fear from him.

_I survived Daleks, Cybermen and the leadership of Yvonne Hartman.  I caught a pterodactyl with a bar of chocolate, a syringe of sedative and Captain Jack Harkness.  I can survive Suzie Costello and save Lisa._

_Probably a good idea to be armed though._

Ianto headed for the armoury and punched in a code he wasn’t supposed to have.  He looked around the weapons, everything from the normal 9mm to alien lasers.

_I’ve had training but I don’t really know how to use theses.  They could be as dangerous to me as they are protective._

He was just giving up on the idea when he spotted something he recognised from Torchwood One.  He picked up the stun gun and checked that it was working.

He’d been issued with them a few times when a threat either to himself personally or Torchwood was suspected.  _Non lethal and good against psychotic co-workers and unwanted suitors._

With the stun gun safely stowed in his pocked he went to retrieve his ear piece from the Tourist Office so that he could hear the other’s progress.  While he should be in the archives right now he didn’t want to be close to Lisa at the moment and wanted to be where Suzie could see him.

The team were still trying to subdue the alien so they could bring it in.  Ianto began to get the Hub ready to receive their new guest and run tests.

Out of the noise the others were producing, he heard the word slime.  He looked at the concrete floor that he battled with every day to keep clean.

He immediately went to the supply cupboard and got out plastic sheets and bin liners. From the garage to the cells he covered the floor with them and taped them in place.

He then covered up Tosh and Owen’s computers and anything else that could be damaged if the slimy alien was a sprayer.

Ianto was stood by Tosh’s computer surveying his handiwork when the Technical Genius walked in covered in purple gunk.  The Welshman silently handed her the damp towel he had prepared for each member of the team.

“They’re bringing it in now.  Fortunately Weevil Spray seems to have it subdued, why no one considered it before it became the last resort I don’t know.  The problem is that it’s covered with this stuff,” she complained after throwing him a grateful smile.

They both turned to the sound of cursing and Owen, Suzie and a purple coloured alien emerged.  They were dragging the creature between them along the plastic path with Jack behind them.

The alien began to thrash, _obviously not as subdued as everyone thinks_ , Ianto was thinking; when it happened so quickly.

Toshiko’s computer beeped and she turned to it, startled to see the plastic sheeting over it.  Suzie and Owen lost the struggle to keep hold of the slimy creature and it headed straight towards Ianto and Tosh.

Without thinking the Welshman took out his stun gun and stepped between the creature and Toshiko.  As it bared down he brought his weapon up and pressed it to the slimy skin.

The alien convulsed and spewed orange slime all over Ianto before it fell.  _It’s ruined my suit._

“Nice work Ianto,” Jack called slowing down from where he had chased the alien.

“Not a problem Sir,” Ianto slurred as the Hub became darker.

He couldn’t hear the voice screaming his name, never felt the arms that caught him. 


	35. Chapter Thirty-four

“Ianto, Ianto,” Jack called to the limp man in his arms.

“Careful Harkness don’t get any of that stuff on you,” Owen ordered appearing wearing rubber gloves and bearing his stethoscope.

Jack did has he was told.  He may be immortal, but there were worse things than death.  He knew Ianto was just unconscious, he knew it and hopefully it wasn’t permanent.

“It’s probably just an allergic reaction unique to him,” Suzie commented and Jack glared at her.

“There was an energy pulse just as it attacked, could that have had an effect?” Tosh asked coming over with sample containers collecting slime.

“This slime’s orange so it probably has a different effect from the stuff we’re covered in,” Owen pointed out.  “He has a slow but steady pulse and breathing rate but we have to get this stuff off him.”

Jack lifted him carefully, his clothing protecting him from most of the orange gunk.  He carried Ianto to the emergency shower room.

He put the Welshman down and accepted the gloves from Owen.  _This really wasn’t what I had in mind when I thought about getting you naked,_ Jack thought towards Ianto as he began to peal the layers of the suit away.

Tosh suddenly popped her head around the door, eyes shut.

“Soap and water don’t have any toxic effect on the slime it’s safe to use,” she was gone before Owen called out his thanks to her.

They finished stripping the Welshman and removed any slime covered clothing before manoeuvring him under the water.   _This isn’t how I pictured showering with Ianto either._

The two men worked quickly not caring that their clothes were getting wet and ruined.  Jack just concentrated on holding Ianto upright while Owen soaped the slime away.

Once clean they dried and dressed the Welshman in a hospital gown.  Jack carried him to the medical bay, it was irrational but he didn’t want Ianto anywhere near autopsy.

Owen raised no objection and when they got there they found Toshiko waiting for them.  Jack put Ianto on the bed and the pair of them began working in unison hooking him up to monitors and taking samples.

Jack wanted to stay.  He wanted to watch over the Welshman badly but he was just in the way and he knew his team were the best.

Instead he returned to the main area to deal with the alien.  Part of him wanted to snap its neck but they might need it to help Ianto.

The alien was exactly as they had left it, unconscious on a plastic sheet.  Jack donned another pair of gloves and retrieved some more slime samples.

He then used the plastic sheet to drag the alien down to the cells not caring how many times its head bumped the concrete floor.  There he found a medical kit waiting to take samples so he used it before locking the alien up and activating the sensors.

The whole time Suzie was nowhere in sight.  The Captain was furious because she should be helping sort this out.  Jack however was glad because he didn’t think he was rational enough not to confront her and make her explain what she did to Evan, to explain what she intended him to do to Ianto, without hurting her.

Jack gathered up all his samples and headed for the biochem lab closest to the medical bay.  Once there he put the samples away ready to be tested and turned on the equipment.

He looked around to see what else needed to be prepared but there was nothing. 

The lab hadn’t been used in over a year but it was dust free and ready for action. The evidence of Ianto’s thoughtfulness and organisation was slightly pine scented and going to save him quicker.

Jack felt his eyes burn but he refused to let the tears fall.  Ianto was still alive and he had to focus on helping him stay that way.

_Why did I continue with my obsession with having Ianto kiss me?  Why haven’t I made myself the all out desirable male I am?  Why did I settle for after work coffee talks? I’ve only known him a few weeks how can he have this effect on me?_

_It isn’t as though there is anything special about Ianto Jones.  He’s not the most handsome man I’ve ever met, he’s not an action man, he’s not got vast intelligence or the greatest passion._

_He’s voice isn’t the most sensuous on the ears, his scent’s not the most arousing, he’s not the greatest listener, not the most organised or the most calm person I’ve ever known._

_He’s a twenty-first century man with all their flaws and sexual neurosis.  Yet he has enough of **all** those qualities he’s not ‘the most’ of to make me and the little captain pay attention to him for each of them._

_I didn’t know about that passion until today.  He has a mystery man air about him and I want to unwrap and know every hidden depth._

_I felt so old when Rose died.  I’d been waiting over a hundred years to find her and the Doctor and when I read her name on the list of the dead I felt every one of those years._

_In one moment Ianto made me feel young and alive again.  I wanted to keep that feeling, preserve it, which means I couldn’t end the chase sweat covered over my office desk._

_I wanted him to want me, to prove I wasn’t really old despite being unchanged.  Perhaps that’s why I feel so flattered that he stays and listens to me, a bright young thing and an old, old man, classic ego flattering._

_Three kisses in four weeks aren’t enough.  Owen and Tosh are going to make him better and I’m going to teach him every pleasure it’s possible for him to know._

Unbidden he remembered the glimpses he’s gotten as he showered the Welshman.  He had a body with a great deal of promise, especially if it was as sensual as Ianto’s lips were earlier.

Before Jack could let his imagination steer him away from Ianto’s plight into his future sexual possibilities he heard footsteps approaching.  He started guiltily and automatically checked that there was no evidence that he’d been doing something wrong.

Toshiko appeared carrying some samples.

“Tosh hi, how is he?  I got you some samples from the alien to test,” Jack said in a rush.

“Owen says he needs to talk to you,” Toshiko replied hastily stepping out of his way.

He was running for the medical bay before he realised he could have run her down.


	36. Chapter Thirty-five

It seemed a little anti-climatic as Jack burst into the ward to see Owen calmly standing over Ianto, machines beeping steadily.  The medic allowed a momentary smirk to appear on his face but it was gone as he looked down at the bed.

“His vitals are strong but slow.  He should come round in a few hours but I’m going to keep him sedated so that he doesn’t.”

“Why?”

“The slime contained a paralytic agent that affects the central nervous system.  There’s no nerve damage but until he metabolises it, or we find something to counter it, he won’t be able to move.

“I’d rather keep him sedated than cause a panic attack or worse trigger a PTSD reaction.  Hopefully we’ll be able to wake him up in a few days and he’d just feel stiff and tired and a little shaky,’ the Medic began and he nodded in agreement.

One of Jack’s greatest fears was being paralysed.  The thought of spending eternity unable to move filled him with dread.

The Immortal had no objections to keeping the young man sedated.  After everything Ianto had been through, a few days unconsciousness was a small price to pay for not waking up immobile.

“He is going to be disorientated when he wakes because he won’t be able to remember anything he’s done today.  The slime also contained a chemical similar to our low level Retcon,” Owen continued calmly and Jack felt devastated.

“How much memory are we talking about here?” he demanded.

“To him he would have gone to sleep in his own bed last night and he’ll wake up in the medical bay and not know why.  Like Retcon this stuff will probably stay in the blood but it won’t have a continuous effect on his memory.

“He will have lost a day that’s all.”

_That’s all he says as though Ianto hadn’t done anything important today.  He won’t remember what happened to Evan or what Suzie did.  Worse he won’t remember those three kisses.  That’s all._

“Why did the alien suddenly attack?  Did the Weevil spray trigger something?  Why did it go for Tosh and Ianto?” Jack asked trying to prevent himself from brooding.

“It went for Ianto because it sensed prey or a threat,” Owen said darkly.

“What?” Jack asked angry that vital information had been withheld from him.

“Tosh analysed her energy pulse.  It didn’t appear to have caused any damage at all until I scanned Ianto’s brain.

“Because he’s not be receiving the signals from his psychic senses he’s registering the same level of activity as a normal human being.

“If Ianto had been a fully functioning psychic that energy pulse would have had a similar effect to a stun grenade, it would have overloaded those senses causing them and Ianto to shut down in defence.

“His trauma induced block means he didn’t register the energy pulse’s effect so he stayed conscious.  I suspect the orange slime is a more primitive method of subduing its prey but one with similar effects.

“It’s too early to know as there’s no nerve damage, but I can’t tell if those senses will recover on their own or if he’s now lost them completely.

“It means that if he ever does want to have those abilities back he might not be able to get them.  Or it might mean that he’ll need the psychic equivalent of physiotherapy I don’t know.

“The thing is you made talking about his psychic abilities a no go area, so how do I tell him?” Owen demanded.

“You write it all down in a report on the alien and you give it to him to file.  You then tell him that you’re sorry, that and the amnesia will make him curious enough to read it,” Jack replied and Owen nodded.

“Could you watch him for me I need to know when he starts to wake.   Me and Tosh are going to work on creating...”

Jack had already nodded and tuned the medic out as he sat beside Ianto.  Half way through his explanation Owen realised this, shook his head and smiled to himself as he left. 

 _He looks so young,_ Jack thought, the unnatural stillness induced by the paralytic frightening him.  _Owen and Tosh are the best they’ll get him through this._

Jack sat unmoving, a sentinel guarding the Welshman as much as watching over him.  Owen had picked the perfect task to keep the immortal out of his hair.

A sense of failure flooded through Jack.  All of them knew how dangerous working for Torchwood was, Ianto perhaps more than the others, but the immortal hadn’t expected that danger to emerge in his own base.

Ianto had survived the fall of the mighty Torchwood One.  Now Torchwood Three proved just as inadequate at keeping him safe from both aliens and co-workers.

 _Perhaps it’s best that he doesn’t remember._ Jack wasn’t thinking of the slime covered alien, he was thinking of a teenager covered in bruises given to him by Suzie.

Jack still couldn’t believe it.  He knew Ianto was wholly convinced or he wouldn’t have been so angry.

The Captain though had been shocked to realise.  He thought they knew each other pretty well, trusted each other well enough to talk about anything.

He had hoped Suzie’s irrational dislike had been set aside weeks ago; he had never envisioned what she had done to Evan.

A low moan from Ianto disturbed Jack’s thoughts.  His face was contorted but his body couldn’t thrash like someone with a nightmare should.

Jack was standing over him instantly.  He gently bushed the Welshman’s hair whispered reassurances; forgetting that he needed to call Owen in his determination to chase the nightmare away.

“Lisa... Lisa,” the Welshman moaned, hurting Jack as he realised Suzie wasn’t the only one with a blind spot when it came to Ianto.

“Who the hell’s Lisa?”

Jack didn’t even turn at the sound of Suzie’s voice.  He instead tried stroking Ianto’s cheek to calm him before answering. “She was his girlfriend.”

“And all this time you’ve been hoping to be his rebound shag that’s quiet pathetic,” Suzie said mockingly.

“She died at Canary Wharf,” Jack snapped turning to face her, the hurt making his anger overwhelming. 

She stood back from him, hands by her sides.

“What did you expect him to dream?  Is it any wonder he works so hard?  If his nights are spent trapped in the Battle of Canary Wharf searching for someone who isn’t there when he wakes?”

She looked at him in shock, backing away a little as he strode towards her.  Jack couldn’t tell if it was his rare fit of temper or his words that moved her and he didn’t care.

“Do you really think Torchwood One ruined your life more than it ruined his?  Their arrogance made him lose his job, his friends and his girl in one day.

“He’s trying to pick up the pieces of his life, trying to live with what he knows, what he’s witnessed.  Sure you could argue that he should have tried UNIT but if you haven’t noticed that’s a local accent he uses and what’s more of a natural instinct for him after such a disaster than to go home?”

“Jack I...” she began as though she genuinely hadn’t thought of any of those things.

“Do you hate this job?” He asked her.

“What?  No I love it.  I love everything about it,” she replied.

“Then why do you hate Torchwood One so much?  What irrational reason do you have for your hatred of a boy who wasn’t even part of Torchwood when you joined me?

“Is it because he let you make a fool of yourself on his first day?  I’m the only one that knew about that.  How many other times you think there are where you showed yourself up without him working here?

“Is it because I like him?  He’s hard working, makes excellent coffee, he’s hot to look at, that makes him quite a perfect employee but he’s no weapons specialist, no field agent.

“What has Ianto done to you that made you do what you did to Evan?” Jack demanded.

She looked at him and that was all he needed to know Ianto’s accusation was right.  He could see denials forming in her mind but she dismissed all of them.

“I... I thought that if I got Evan to seduce Ianto, you wouldn’t want him in Torchwood anymore.  Only Evan didn’t think he could do it so I tried to boost his confidence,” she replied.

“Boost his confidence,” Jack said slowly his voice cold and hard.  “How much fear of you was in this confidence boosting?

“Was Evan just supposed to make a play for Ianto, ask him on a date or did you intend to add rape to his list of traumas?” Jack demanded.

“I didn’t mean it to go that far but Evan kept baulking.  I had to make him believe in himself absolutely.”

“Like no one would ever say no to him?  Do you think Evan wouldn’t realise what he’d done afterwards?

“I don’t know what frightened Evan more, you or what he’d almost did.  He let me, a complete stranger, see him at his most vulnerable because he was afraid of what he might do to Ianto if they were left alone, someone he knows and cares about.

“Would you be able to live with yourself if he had raped Ianto and then committed suicide because he was unable to live with what you had made him do?” Jack demanded.

“I’m sorry Jack.  I just wanted him gone, I didn’t mean it to go this far but I couldn’t stop myself,” Suzie pleaded.

“Well Ianto’s right.  When it comes to aliens and time travel we’re above the law but what you did to Evan went beyond a consensual caning.”

“No Jack please I’m sorry.  I know I’ve been stupid, irrational but this has made me see it.  I won’t do anything to try and get rid of Ianto again.  Please,” she begged.

“I’m sorry Suzie but it’s too late.”

“No.”

Before Jack realised what was happening she grabbed his left hand.  He felt a sting of pain and lifted it to see it was bleeding.

He looked in confusion from the hand to Suzie.  Casually his second-in-command put the shard of glass she was holding in a handkerchief on the tray with the other samples Tosh and Owen had been testing earlier.

She went to the door and retrieved a little bag she had left just outside and tipped the other shards of a broken sample container next to the bloody one.  Jack didn’t need to see the slightly orange residue to guess what it was; he was already feeling its effects.

Suzie helped manoeuvre him closer to the shards before letting him fall and stand back.  Panic flooded him as she looked towards Ianto.

“You’re right Jack, he doesn’t deserve the way I’ve treated him.  I didn’t tell you... but that doesn’t matter now.

“He isn’t worth losing all this for.  I really am sorry for him and for Evan but I can’t let you fire me, leaving Torchwood would kill me.

“I promise you I won’t harm him.  You can’t expect me to like him overnight, but I won’t try and get rid of him anymore.  I’m sorry.”

Darkness and paralysis were closing in on Jack as he heard Suzie call for Owen.  On any other day he might have tried to keep hold of what she’d done, remember it and the danger she was.

As oblivion claimed Jack the memories he grasped to keep were of three perfect kisses.

 


	37. Chapter Thirty-six

In Torchwood you learn to always expect the unexpected.  The most unexpected of all though isn’t horrific, it’s wonderful and thus potentially more devastating.

Suzie Costello’s most unexpected discovery began in Cardiff’s Museum.  An alien artefact showed up in an exhibit and she was sent to collect it.

It was a simple job no dangerous aliens, it wasn’t even a dangerous artefact just an alien hair brush.  Suzie’s unexpected discovery didn’t appear dangerous either.

His name was Sam Bennett and he was one of the museum’s curators.

He was a tall, broad, Welsh, brunette with hazel eyes and a kind face.  He was polite and opened the doors open for her in a way that struck her more as being gentlemanly than patronising.

They flirted a little as he got the artefact ready for her.  Asked questions about it that her cover story allowed to smooth away and that was it.

She returned to the museum a week later on a fact gathering mission and they flirted some more.  Suzie needed to know more about the legends of one of the local Celtic tribes who may have had dealings with aliens.

The third time they just happened to bump into each other but this time Sam asked her out for a drink.  Suzie surprised herself by saying yes.

Only they didn’t go out for a drink they went out for a romantic dinner.  Afterwards he walked her home and kissed her goodnight before leaving, making her want more.

Two dinner dates and a lunch date later and she got Sam into her house and into her bed.  Only they didn’t have the fast, furious sex she was used to, he made slow and tender love to her.

Suzie Costello felt like a virgin beneath his touch.  Like she had never known the true physical bond possible between two people.

As she climaxed she felt complete for the first time in her life.  As he withdrew from her she felt bereft.

There was that awkward moment when he was unsure if he should stay or go.  She kissed him, touched him and made love to him until he gave up all notions of leaving.

They made love again in the morning before he cooked her breakfast.  He left with the promise of their next date which she was determined to keep.

As they dated Sam never minded that she sometimes had to cancel or reschedule, that she worked crazy hours and was often late, her original cover story adapting nicely to cover all sins.  Sam sometimes was late or cancelled too if something fascinating arrived at the museum, when he talked about the new acquisitions she found herself turned on rather than tuning out.

After six months she moved in with him.  Suzie had always been a loner, never let romance move her and now she wanted Sam so much that her fears about relationships didn’t stand a chance.

After a year Suzie Costello knew she was in love.  If he had asked her to marry him she would have said yes, she would have left Torchwood, she would have started a family.

However Torchwood One would not let that happen.

Yvonne Hartman’s predecessor Michael Standish might have accepted Jack as leader of Torchwood Three but she did not.  Before she was leader of Torchwood One she sent a team into deep cover in Cardiff.

Their job was to keep an eye on Jack, report on what he was doing and take care of anything that he missed.  They were all to get other jobs and appear like normal citizens, stay out of Torchwood Three’s radar.

One night Suzie was sent on a simple artefact retrieval while the others were on a Weevil hunt.  She didn’t know that the artefact’s owners were disguised and still guarding it.

She was outnumbered.  She should have been killed.

The leader of the team of spies decided to break his cover.  He dashed in to save her, her Sam Bennett.

In a moment her museum curator had become her hero.  They cleared up the aliens, took their bodies and the artefact back to the Hub where she hid them and Sam’s assistance away.

Suzie took him home and they made love.  First with the furious, live affirming passion of two people who had almost lost each other. Then with the slow tenderness of two people saying goodbye.

In the morning he told her everything.  Suzie ranted and raved at him but he never once brought up the fact that she had been trying to deceive him.

His eyes filled with the hurt of one soon to be broken hearted, Sam just sat there waiting for her to pass judgement on him.  Instead she made love to him.

They stayed together for two more weeks before Hartman recalled him.  Sam asked her to go with him but she couldn’t.  She now had Torchwood One to blame not only for endangering her life and leading her to Cardiff but for ruining the one thing that made her feel alive and happy.

Suzie wanted to ask him to stay but they both knew that Yvonne would never let him leave and Jack would never want him, or protect him enough to let him stay.

Instead Sam told her to warn Jack that Yvonne intended to use the information they gathered to get rid of him.  When Suzie told him the Captain cursed Torchwood One and made sure Hartman’s attempt was thwarted.

Suzie and Sam saw each other occasionally on Torchwood business.  While out in public they pretended to hate each other before sneaking off to a hotel to make love.

Occasionally they managed to arrange holiday time together.  Those became the best times of her life and the most hurtful when they ended.

When Suzie Costello read Sam Bennett’s name on the list of the dead from the Battle of Canary Wharf her heart broke.  For a week she would cry for him whenever she was alone.  Inside the best part of her died and she tried to forget it ever existed.

When Jack announced that Ianto Jones was joining Torchwood she felt like he had betrayed her.  Years of insisting that there would never be anyone from Torchwood One on his team and he rolls over for a hot boy in a suit.

She saw Sam’s face in Evan sometimes.  After she had begun drugging him into subservience she would make the boy recite history lectures while she rode him to her climax before getting off him and caning him to his own.

It always caught her out when she saw Sam’s face in Ianto.  Every time she did it made her hate him more because he was there in Torchwood Three and not her Sam.

Over Ianto’s bed as he lay paralysed from the slimy alien, Jack’s accusation that she had made a fool of herself echoed in her mind because Suzie realised that she had.

It only dawned on her then that all she had had to do was ask Jack if Sam could join Torchwood Three when she first found out the truth.  If she had told Jack everything then maybe Sam would be alive and hers right now because Jack didn’t understand her hate, but he would have understood her love.

Hearing Jack spell out the loss of Ianto’s girlfriend made Suzie feel sympathy for the Welshman for the first time.  She could see his polite professionalism for the mask it was and the nightmare ridden sleep as the truth his mask concealed.

Suzie Costello had already figured out that Jack knew about Evan and didn’t approve.  He had said nothing as they retrieved the slime alien but she knew.

As soon as she heard Owen and Tosh describing the effects of the alien slime she hatched her plan with the broken sample container and altered the CCTV footage to support what she would tell the medic.

She had gone into the medical bay intending only to protect herself until she could think of another way to get rid Ianto.  Now she was going to use it to try and put things right.

Suzie felt that, like Jack, Sam would never have condoned what she did to Evan.  That he wouldn’t want the campaign of hate against Ianto.  It was time to stop and let her lover go.

When she promised Jack that Ianto was safe from her she meant it.  She couldn’t become his best friend overnight but she could give her fellow griever his space to heal.


	38. Chapter Thirty-seven

Owen clocked Jack, the blood and the broken sample container as soon as he walked into the medical bay and activated his comms.

“Tosh I need Serum B in the medical bay now,” he ordered before turning to Suzie and asking, “What happened?”

“We were having an argument.  Jack seemed to think that I’d let the alien go on purpose.”

“That’s ridiculous.  That thing was strong and slippery I felt you holding onto it.”

“I don’t think he really meant it.  He was just upset about Ianto getting hurt and I haven’t exactly been his best buddy. 

“I think Jack realised I was telling the truth and slammed his hand down in frustration.  I heard the smash but I thought it was just the containers knocking together until Jack collapsed,” she explained.

A moan from the bed drew Owen’s attention to Ianto.  He swore and stepped over Jack to get a sedative.

“Put on gloves and clean out that wound,” the medic ordered as he sent the Welshman back into unconsciousness.

He checked the Welshman’s vitals were unchanged while keeping an eye on Suzie as she tended to the wound.  When Tosh arrived he injected the serum into Jack while the second-in-command retold her story.

He hoped Serum B, to be renamed when things were less hectic, would help Jack to keep most of the day’s memories.  His most immediate ones, like the argument and accident would be lost but the rest now had some chance to be recovered.

It was far too late to do the same for Ianto.  He had metabolised the amnesiac element of the slime before Owen had a chance to recognise it.

The three of them worked together to get Jack onto a bed beside Ianto’s and hooked him up to his own monitors.  His vitals were less sluggish than the Welshman’s at this stage but the Captain hadn’t received such a large dose of slime.

Having done everything that they could for now, the medic ushered the two girls out of the room.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Suzie asked.

 Owen didn’t wonder at what she’s been doing before the accident, he just assumed she had been ensuring their cover story was in place while Tosh was helping him.

“Get into a Hazmat suit and start checking everywhere that alien was for more slime and get rid of it, we need to make sure that there are no more accidents.

“Thank goodness that Ianto’s so house proud, I doubt any of our computers would have been hit under that plastic,” Owen told her.

Suzie nodded and headed away.  Owen and Tosh returned to the Biochem lab and set up the CCTV so that they could monitor Jack and Ianto from there.

A few hours later, while waiting for their latest experiments to finish cooking, Owen suddenly found himself at a loose end.  He wandered into the main Hub cautiously but could smell evidence of Suzie’s hard work making it a slime free environment.

Tosh had volunteered to go out to get them all coffee so he wandered to the autopsy bay to see if there was anything that needed doing.  He had already given the slime alien the once over and now he wanted something else to do.

That’s when he spotted the blood sample waiting for testing and picked up the note beside it.

 

_Owen,_

_Could you please test Evan’s blood sample as a personal favour.  I’d like to know what he’s been given._

_Many thanks_

_IJ_

 

The medic picked the sample up.  Ianto never asked for personal favours and now he couldn’t do it in person.

So he began to run test on the blood to see what was in it.  When he got the results he cursed.  Whoever Evan was he needed to be found and Owen needed to look at him.

Ianto had dated the sample which was a relief.  The problem was that he had no idea where the Welshman had managed get it.

Then Owen remembered today was the day was the day of the Archivist’s weekly shop and Ianto had been late getting Jack got into a tiz.

The Medic brought up the CCTV along Ianto’s usual route and soon found him.  The young man was having a conversation with a dark haired woman.

Whoever she was she had certainly made cracks in the Welshman’s mask of calm.  They were subtle but she definitely upset him.

She had her face away from the camera so he couldn’t see it.  Owen looked at her carefully before deciding that she wasn’t dressed well enough to be a transvestite.

Owen hadn’t been paying attention at the time; which is why he thought of the incident that sent Jack off in a rush an hour before the alien sighting second. 

He brought up the CCTV footage of the Tourist Office and the smile on the young man’s face told him he hit pay dirt before Ianto said his name.  The shock and horror on Evan’s face sent relief through Owen, he could be alright but he still had to be found.

He followed the trace Tosh had done to guide Jack after them as they ran from the Tourist Office.  Owen was impressed at Ianto’s turn of speed and cursed when, as soon had the Captain begun to catch up with them, they turned into a residential area and the camera trail stopped.

Owen didn’t really have time to try and break into Ianto’s personnel records to find out who Evan was.  Besides that would be no guarantee as a method of finding him today.

Unfortunately the time he had to spend worrying about Evan was up.  He had two patients he wanted to be fully mobile and the first batches of the anti-paralytic were ready for lab testing.

Several hours of tests later, they had a drug they hoped would work.  Despite Ianto being the more worrying case Owen decided to give it to Jack first.

This wasn’t out of any sense of priority caused by Jack being their leader.  It was because Owen knew the Captain would rather take the risks of an experimental drug first, before any of his team.

As Owen injected Jack, Tosh picked up his bandaged hand and stroking it with affection.

“I know Jack was anxious because of how badly injured Ianto is but did he have to take it so personally?” she asked wondering at the Captain’s loss of temper.

“Personally,” Owen echoed as a light bulb flashed in his overworked, sluggish brain.

“Tosh I have to go, favour for a friend.  Stay with them keep an eye on Jack’s vitals, you know what to give him if anything happens and call me if you don’t know.  Make sure Ianto stays sedated.”

“Where are you going?” she called after him but she didn’t leave the medical bay, her duty to his patients, their friends, prevented her.

Owen didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it earlier.  This was personal so Ianto would have made sure Evan was being looked while he was at the Hub.  That meant he probably called someone to come and be with the boy.

Jack had taken Ianto’s phone and PDA out of his pocket when they were getting rid of his slime covered clothes and put them into his coat.  The captain loved his coat so it had gone in one of the lockers in the emergency shower room, hidden form Suzie’s clean up.

Putting on gloves Owen extracted the coat.  The slime had dried into flakes so the coat was probably salvageable but the untouched prize was where he thought it would be.

Owen was surprised to find it vibrating with an incoming call so he answered it.

“Ianto where the hell have you been I’ve been calling you for hours,” a Welsh female voice whispered fiercely.

“I’m sorry this isn’t Ianto.  My name’s Doctor Owen Harper.  There’s been an incident and Ianto was hurt, he’s unconscious but stable.”

“What sort of incident?  Is this about Evan?” she demanded.

“Do you know where Evan is?” Owen asked.  He was greeted with suspicious silence.

“Listen lady before he was knocked out Ianto left me a blood sample to test and the results aren’t good.  I need to examine Evan to ensure he’s not a danger to himself or others and I know you’re worried or you wouldn’t have been calling.

“Now we could always wait for Ianto to regain consciousness but that could take several days and I have no guarantee that he will remember anything he did before he was attacked.”

“I’m not the one who’s in danger,” she replied simply. 

Then she gave him an address and hung up.

Owen grabbed his medical kit, Ianto’s note and the test results and headed out to see Evan.


	39. Chapter Thirty-eight

A blonde woman opened the door and looked him up and down.  Owen gave her his ID and Ianto’s note and waited for her to open the door.

“You’re not the man who was with Ianto when I collected Evan.”

“He’s out of it too,” Owen said simply letting her draw her own conclusions.

“What is it that you can do for Evan that his own doctor can’t?” she asked.

“I bet that if they examined him they would just tell you that he’s high on some popular stuff and take a blood sample and when the results come in they will say it had been metabolised so they couldn’t identify it and you should get him into rehab.

“The truth will be that they won’t be able to identify some of what he’s been given because it isn’t found outside of certain labs.  It’s how I know without looking, and ignoring any faith on Ianto’s part, that Evan didn’t take them, he was given them.

“I suspect that it’s one of the other drugs in his system that’s worrying you right now but believe me when that one has run its course it’s this other one that will really worry you and he won’t need rehab he’ll need therapy and good friends.”

She opened the door and ushered him inside

“I don’t need your chemical analysis to know that he will need counselling.  I just need to know that the physical damage is repairable,” she informed him and led him up the stairs.

It was a three story building with two locked rooms and a bathroom on each floor.  They all seemed to be unoccupied.

“I run a children’s home this is one of our halfway houses.  We also have some for those who wish to go to the University here in Cardiff rather than elsewhere.

“Some of our former charges became very successful and set up a trust fund so that those who came after would be able to have a chance at a university education.  Some of them in turn became successes and gave generously back to the fund for those that followed,” she explained as they passed the first floor and went up to the next.

As they approached their destination Owen could hear moaning.  He picked up his pace but slowed when he realised they had a distinctly ‘Ianto’ sound to them.

“Like I said on the phone it isn’t me you need to worry about.  I was able to get him here without a problem he ate, had a shower and saw a doctor.

“The doc gave him something to make him sleep and when he woke he had wood.  He was hurting himself at first, trying to repeat what she’d trained him to do I suppose but it didn’t seem to be working for him.  Then he started to think about Ianto and he had much more success,” she told him her matter of fact manner hiding her concern.

Behind the door Evan’s voice cried out with the peak of sexual joy.  A minute later it was replaced by the sounds of sobbing.

“He doesn’t think he’s worthy of Ianto but he can’t seem to stop it.  He’s okay for a while then something triggers him off, he gets aroused, masturbates and then feels guilty.

“Ianto warned me Evan’s been sexually assaulted.  Not anal rape it was a woman but she did more than just use him.  Ianto also warned me he was likely to be aggressively aroused but I don’t think this is what he was expecting.”

Owen turned to look at her in disbelief.  Ianto had warned her that Evan was likely to be sexually dangerous.

“Ah you’ve got that _if Ianto knew Evan was dangerous why did he call me_ look, especially when Evan has a brother.  Apart from Evan hating to have his brother see him like this, Simon has a young family to look after.

“I on the other hand have access to places like this.  Okay Evan doesn’t fall under our remit but I wouldn’t abandon him anymore than Ianto could.

“I also have access to the medical and psychological help he will need and I have influence with the University’s Board of Education, so that when he recovers he will have a chance to continue his studies.

“I have experience with teenagers awakening to their sexual potential.  Not just those who are becoming sexually active but those who are discovering their sexuality.

“The unfortunate aspect of my job is that I also have experience with those who have suffered abuse from sexual or violent or emotional bullying.  I have experience of those who have fallen into substance use and those who need to be on suicide watch.

“I also have three black belts,” she informed him and Owen found himself agreeing that she was ideally suited to looking after Evan.

“What is your name?” he asked realising that he didn’t know.

“Anne Marie but most people call me AM.  He should be okay to see you now,” she informed him and the medic realised the sobbing had stopped.

Owen knocked on the door and called “Evan my name is Doctor Owen Harper.  Ianto asked me to come and look at you.

Working for Torchwood you might be expected to be used to the sudden appearance of naked men, Owen wasn’t.  He put the fact that he needed AM to pinch his bottom, hard, before he could answer Evan’s demand to know where Ianto was, down to the shock of seeing his injuries.

“Jack and Ianto were attacked, they’re safe and the person that attacked them is in custody but they are unconscious.  Before the attack Ianto gave me a sample of your blood for testing.  I need to examine you and I need to hear your story,” Owen said firmly.

“If you don’t want me here...” AM began.

“No,” Evan protested.  “Ianto entrusted me to you.  You need to know and I don’t want to be alone with anyone.”

Owen and AM exchanged looks before ushering the naked young man back into his room.  The Welshwoman handed Evan a dressing gown to cover himself while they talked and he was examined.

Evan’s story was a bit of a jumble but the gist was clear.  About four weeks ago the young man had been in a bar and was picked up by a woman.

She took him to a hotel, introduced him to the pleasures of a little pain and restraint during sex and left him thinking he’d probably been awful and would never see her again.

Only she’d called him the next day to a different hotel with other toys and thus Evan began his training as a sub.  He’d enjoyed it for nearly two weeks.

Then she told him she was going to give him something to heighten the experience.  Evan was vague on whether he’s agreed or whether she’d injected him while he was restrained and unable to protest.

After that their games changed.  She started to taunt him before she left and he would become depressed and not want to do anything until she called.  The pain stopped being pleasant but he still felt aroused by it, still wanted more.

Evan would have done anything to please her, anything for her praise, anything for release.

Then she told him she was grooming him for someone.  Evan was going to belong to this man; the thought sickened him but he was too afraid that she would leave him and he knew he was worthless to anyone else.

He tried to be what she wanted but he kept failing her.  He didn’t want to be with someone else.

Then out of the blue she called him today and told him to meet her.  Told him that his man was ready for him to go and get him.

Evan hadn’t been able to do it.  She’d been angry and humiliated him as she gave him his usual canning, lashing and orgasm.

Then she gave him something and told him he was wonderful.  He believed her, his whole body felt electrified.  Felt like no one would resist him and his man was waiting, the man who wanted him now that he was housebroken and he would do it to please her.

Evan’s shock and horror at seeing Ianto, someone he knew, was mixed up with the feelings of adoration that had come later.  He painted himself as abhorrent and the archivist as angelic.

Owen knew Ianto hadn’t done anything inappropriate with Evan, especially with Jack in the room, but once the adrenaline and shock wore off every touch, however innocent would have been arousing.

Simple human kindness, care towards someone who felt he didn’t deserve it, was all it took for the young man to transfer his feelings from the woman to his brother’s childhood best friend.

When Evan finished his story he was sitting in the dressing gown sitting on his hands.  As he described Ianto he had begun to touch himself until Owen ordered him to stop.

Owen hated to think it, but he was beginning to have suspicions regarding who the woman was.  He couldn’t believe it but he knew of only one person who had had any kind of grudge against Ianto with access to the drugs given to Evan.

“Okay I need an e-mail address so that I can send you my report for the psychiatrist, your doctor and the education board.  This is the address where you are to send all the bills, including Evan’s tuition fees and rent on his accommodation.

“I will arrange for private medical insurance to cover Evan for life and there will be a lump sum waiting when he finishes university.”

“You can’t do that,” AM protested.

“I’m not.  I told you one of the drugs he’s been given isn’t found outside certain labs.  We will identify the woman who did this, even if Evan chooses not to press assault charges she will be charged with theft.

“The company won’t want a scandal and won’t want to be sued further down the line.  What I mentioned is the most basic compensation they will give Evan.”

“What did she give me?” Evan asked sounding worried, which was encouraging.

“She gave you a drug to suppress your free will.  Probably something to heighten your senses and certainly something to keep you in a prolonged state of arousal.

“That last one lingers I’m afraid.  I can’t give you anything for the other drugs until that one wears off it shouldn’t last more than another twenty-four hours.

“I recommend a detox diet that should help speed things up a little and ensure you don’t take anything to add stimulation.  I will give AM some sleeping tablets for you so you can rest.

“When that one wears off you will start to crash.  I’ll leave you with a short course of anti-depressants.

“I will give you my number, call me as soon as that happens.  I will come and collect another blood sample and examine you to see how your body is coping.

“I want you to see a psychiatrist as soon as you can after I’ve seen you.  He will be better placed to recommend the medication you will need to stabilise your moods.

“You will also need to begin having counselling as soon as possible.  The drug suppressing your will isn’t designed for long term use.  It’s designed to suppress it until that becomes ingrained in you and your will becomes hers without it. 

“I don’t know why but she let you loose before she had complete control over you, you need to get your control back,” Owen said looking the young man deep in the eyes.

“I know, Ianto would want me to be my own man,” Evan told him.

The medic shot a worried glance at AM but she was smiling.  Owen concluded that this was a philosophy picked up from the Archivist’s childhood.

He packed up his things and asked the burning question.

“You never mentioned the woman’s name.  Do you have any clue to her identity?”

“She just wanted me to call her ma’am but I overheard her taking a call the last time.  Her name’s Claudia.”

That wasn’t the answer the medic was expecting.  Then Owen remembered the woman who wasn’t a transvestite on the CCTV that shocked Ianto on his way back from lunch.

 


	40. Chapter Thirty-nine

Toshiko Sato felt frustrated being left to watch Jack and Ianto.  She could tell that whatever errand Owen had to run was important, but it meant that she was left here to worry instead of doing something herself.

Ianto had begun to wake once while she watched him.  The beginnings of the nightmares were enough to reassure her that she was doing the right thing keeping him sedated.

Yet she felt cowardly as she drugged him back into unconsciousness.  As though she wasn’t just suppressing those bad dreams for Ianto but was suppressing them so she didn’t have to face the horror he had experienced.

Toshiko Sato had her own share of demons.  For the first few weeks after she joined Torchwood she too had had nightmares.

Few of those were actually of her time in the UNIT prison although she had many about being told she wasn’t what Jack was hoping for and being sent back.

Most of nightmares were about her mother and the UNIT team not getting to them in time, until she borrowed the CCTV network to find out her mother was alright for herself.

Tosh didn’t argue with Jack’s edict to keep her contact with her family to a minimum.  She accepted it at first as only fair and just given her circumstances.

Despite being condemned without trial, without anyone listening to her side Toshiko understood why she was locked up.  She had had the best of intentions, to save her mother, but she had still stolen and created a dangerous weapon and she had gone to a hellhole for it.

Her five years with Torchwood she saw as a better way of paying her debt than life imprisonment.  She might have more freedom, but she was on probation, seeing her family was a privilege that also had to be earned.

She realised later of course that the minimum contact with her family had nothing to do with punishment.  The fact that Jack never treated her like a prisoner made her feel confused and a little wary of him until she understood.

The minimum contact was to keep her family safe.  Torchwood had enemies that would happily used her family against her to get what they wanted.

It hadn’t happened yet and Tosh hoped that her family would never be touched by her decision to join Torchwood.  She hoped she would be strong but her mother had already proved once to be her weakness.

She looked down at Ianto and wondered how he felt about his family, Tosh didn’t even know if the Welshman had one.

_Are they worrying about him?  Do they even know Ianto is in Cardiff or has he decided that ignorance is safer for them?_

It was a bit cliché but the team felt like family to Toshiko.  They were the people she was closest to, the ones she would do whatever she could for and she trusted them with her life.  No one outside her real family had ever gained such affection or loyalty from her.

_Did Ianto feel that way about his team in London?  Was that why, despite his efforts to be friendly and one of them, he maintains a little distance?_

Impulsively Toshiko wanted to tell Ianto that it would all be alright.  That he was safe, that they would look after him, that he had found his new family but she didn’t.

She was supposed to be the experienced field agent but it was Ianto who saved her.  They had been escorting a restrained alien to the cells and it had gotten loose inside the base, that wasn’t any reassurance of safety or protection.

Tosh rechecked Jack’s vitals to move herself away from her own sense of failure. There were signs of improvement in the Captain and so far no complications.

Like Ianto, Jack was staying sedated but he twitched randomly as he neared consciousness but he wasn’t yet responding to external sensual stimuli.

She sat back down between the two men to watch over them. 

The hand on her shoulder jolted her awake and she looked up to see Suzie smiling down at her.  Tosh hadn’t seen that smile since the battle of Canary Wharf and it was good to see it again.

“I’m sorry to wake you, I know you’ve been working hard and need the rest but I’m worried about the slime alien.  We can’t keep it because it could attack again and, let’s face it, Ianto is the one who feeds them, I don’t want this to happen again.

“That means we either have to kill it, which Jack hates us doing, or we have to find a way to send it back through the rift,” Suzie said gently.

“I could use the rift monitor programme to try and find a large enough opening to let the alien through but there is no guarantee at the moment that we’ll be able to detect it quickly enough to get there in time unless the hole is huge.

“I also promised Owen I’d stay here, he had to go out,” Tosh replied but her mind was already working on improving the Rift Monitor Programme to be able to do what was needed.

“That’s why I set up a link between your computer and the one down here.  You start work on your programme, I’ll get the SUV ready and prepare the Hub so that Ianto’s floor remains slime free as we transport it to the garage,” Suzie gave another smile and left.

Toshiko Sato felt a tension she had been holding for weeks slip away with Suzie out the door.  There was none of the intense, aggressive dislike about her any more.

_Perhaps it’s because he saved me.  Perhaps she never expected someone from Torchwood One to care about us and Ianto just proved that he did._

_Maybe somewhere in that argument with Jack she finally saw sense.  Finally realised how awful she was being and is now prepared to start over with Ianto._

That was good; Toshiko hated it when the team fought and Ianto Jones had proved that he was definitely a part of the team now.

Toshiko began her work on the Rift Monitor Program pausing only to check on her colleagues.  She was still working at it when Owen burst in.

She waited until he had checked Jack and Ianto for himself before asking, “Did your errand go okay?”

“It isn’t quite finished yet.  I have to find someone but it looks like it’s time to start the next stage with Jack,” the Medic replied torn.

“Suzie rigged this computer to be able to access mine so that I could work on the Rift Monitor Programme.  Give me a few minutes and I will link it to Ianto’s he has the best search facilities.”

“Why were you working of your Rift Programme?”

“Suzie pointed out that we are going to have to get rid of the slime alien.  It’s far too dangerous.  I’m trying to predict when the Rift will open next in time let us send it back through,” she replied.

“Good idea.  Why don’t you pack the alien in the SUV now and monitor the rift remotely.  That way you don’t have to waste time getting it from the cell or getting the car out of the garage,” Owen suggested.

“I just have to make a few more adjustment’s to the programme and I’ll let Suzie know,” she replied not pointing out that she had thought of that and was only waiting for his return.

Toshiko made the adjustments to the medical bay’s computer and left Owen to begin his searches.  She wished him success and gave her unconscious colleagues one last look before heading up to the main area.

All of Ianto’s plastic sheeting was back in place.  She moved the stuff covering her computer and began making the final adjustments to her Rift Predictor Programme. 

Giving her the link to the medical bay was a good idea but that computer wasn’t as sophisticated as her own.  She made a mental note to herself that, when she had time, she should suggest to Jack that all the computers have a proper overhaul to be in line with those used in the main Hub.

Suzie came in just as Toshiko finished the remote programme.  She told the second-in-command Owen’s suggestion and the two of them went to get the Hazmat suits.

The slime alien was awake and aggressive.  They sprayed it with Weevil spray to distract it then used the Stun Gun to knock it out.

It was heavy but they used Jack’s method of transport, one of the plastic sheets.  Both women looked at each other the first time they banged it’s head on the steps.

Silently they agreed to make sure it was more secure in their sling made of plastic sheeting.  Silently they agreed that they didn’t care how many blows to the head they accidently gave it.

They got it to the garage with only a small slime trail.  They secured the alien in the plastic lined boot of the SUV and left the Hub.

Toshiko found an out of the way area not too far from the Hub where they could wait unnoticed.  Both women remained silent waiting for Tosh’s computer to beep.

As soon as it did Suzie started the engine.  Tosh called out directions then called the local police to get the area in the middle of town cleared of shoppers. 

She ordered them to set up a tent so that they could drive in and release the alien without anyone witnessing the Rift opening.  The police were reluctant but Suzie added her voice to the conversation and they agreed.

They made it to the street and drove through the police cordon to the tent before the Rift began to open.  They re-donned the Hazmat suit’s helmet and gloves and hauled the still unconscious alien out of the boot.

Both women wished that one of the men was with them to lend a hand but neither voiced that thought.  They were both determined to tell the other, should she voice that complaint, that they could do the job perfectly well on their own.

The Rift opened with a warm breeze and a glow of orange light.  The two women made a last effort and shoved the alien through the opening.

They turned away as the light shone brighter then the rift closed.  The slime alien was gone and in its place was a small egg-like object.

They returned to the SUV to get the scanning equipment that Suzie had packed on the back seats in order to make room for the alien.  They worked in harmony checking the object out before deciding it was safe enough to transport.

Suzie drove the SUV out of the tent and told the police officers that they could take it down and that the area was safe.  Ignoring the complaints they speed away.

When they got back to the Hub, Jack was awake.

 


	41. Chapter Forty

“Krim how much Hypervodka did we drink last night?” Jack asked as he came to.

By his reckoning it must have been about three bottles.  He couldn’t remember the last time he woke up this achy and hung over.

He felt a stab in his arm and a voice replied.  “I’m not Krim and you didn’t drink any Hypervodka, whatever that is.  You got slimed.”

“Owen?” Jack asked as the pain killers he’d been injected with dulled everything enough for him to brave opening his eyes.

He shut them again as a wave of bitterness washed over him.  For a glorious moment he had been back at the Time Agency and the last hundred years or so of his life hadn’t happened.

Yet Jack wouldn’t let himself regret.  He might have felt happier as a mortal but if he hadn’t met the Doctor, wouldn’t have begun to redeem himself; the jury was still out on whether or not he was succeeding.

“How much of yesterday do you remember?” Owen asked.

Jack thought it was a bit much to ask of someone who felt like he’d drunk three bottles of Hypervodka.  Still he closed his eyes and gave it a whirl.

The images were a jumbles mess.  There was routine stuff, an image if Ianto trembling slightly, an image of Ianto shouting and looking really sexy.

He vaguely remembered going out and catching an alien covered in slime.  He remembered feeling angry towards Suzie and he remembered a hot passionate kiss with Ianto.

“I’m not sure there are just random images,” Jack replied hoping his cock was as sluggish as the rest of him felt and not responding to the memory of kissing Ianto.

Owen shrugged as if to say that was what he expected.  Then he explained about the slime alien and what it had done to Ianto, the amnesia, the paralysis, and how he had gotten in an argument with Suzie and broken one of the sample containers and been affected as well.

He then told Jack how he had Tosh had created something to counter the amnesia by the time of his accident and given it to him, so that he kept some of his memories, before creating the anti-paralytic that allowed him to move today.

Jack looked over to where Ianto lay unnaturally still.  Owen informed him that he would have no memory of the alien attack and that he had only been given the anti-paralytic when the Captain’s test results satisfied the medic.

The kiss immediately returned to his mind.  Jack didn’t know why they had kissed but now he remembered it but Ianto wouldn’t.

To Ianto they were still boss and employee.  He didn’t know that for one moment, for some reason they had become something more.

“Do you remember Claudia Timmons?” the question caught Jack off guard.

Before he answered no, an image on CCTV flashed though his mind of Ianto speaking to an older woman.  He felt anxiety and worry over the image.

Then he was standing in front of Ianto.

 _“Her name’s Claudia Timmons, she’s the one who recruited me for Torchwood One,” Ianto said looking shaken._ Jack didn’t think the Welshman was aware of how pale and frightened he looked.

_“What did she want?  Did she hurt you?” Jack asked._

_“I don’t know what she wants,” Ianto replied,_ before the memory faded.

“She recruited Ianto for Torchwood.  He met her yesterday and she frightened him.”

“With good reason,” Owen replied and Told Jack Evan’s story.

As Owen spoke Jack remembered the terrified young man.  Remembered the sight if his scratched and bruised back.

Remembered the sight of Ianto taking care of Evan, the erotic intensity of his attention and its innocence.  His fantasy of being the one scrutinised so compassionately by the Welshman filled his mind then the kiss again.

Jack realised that he had drifted off and missed half of Owen’s story.  He didn’t need to hear all of it, that memory and what he had taken in were enough.

“What does this have to do with Claudia Timmons?” Jack asked receiving an impatient eye roll from the medic as if to say he had just explained and knew the captain wasn’t listening.

“Claudia arrived in Cardiff not long after Ianto did.  She picked Evan up in a bar and began to use him for her sexual pleasure.

“I think she came here looking for Ianto, wanting to hurt him, and after she determined that Evan would be suitable for her purpose she began to drug him into becoming her slave and doing what she ordered which I think was going to be raping Ianto.

“Fortunately when she ran into Ianto yesterday she decided to put her plan into action before Evan was ready.  What she didn’t know was that Ianto and Evan knew each other from childhood, the shock of recognition was enough for Evan to counter the drug’s effects.”

“Why would she want to have Ianto raped?” Jack asked unable to comprehend why anyone would want to hurt someone else that way let alone Ianto.

“I spoke on the phone with some of the survivors of Canary Wharf who now work for UNIT.  Before Ianto’s sudden leap in psychic ability he was being used as a psychic barometer. 

“Some of the departments would send new recruits or people they were worried about to Ianto on trivial errands.  If there was something to worry about Jones would then report his concerns back and he was always right.

“After his abilities increased everyone sent newbies and potential problems to Ianto.  I don’t think he read their minds, given what’s in his database, I’d say he relied mostly on a more thorough security check of their backgrounds.

“I don’t think Hartman or the higher up’s knew but Timmons would.  My sources say she was a little narked when bosses stopped relying solely on her probationary reviews and when he found flaws in her findings.

“She’s the one he went to when he wrote his letter.  We can only ask Ianto how willing she was to have it on his record or if she tried to dissuade him.”

“Okay I could see why that might piss her off but surely it can’t be that important anymore?”

“Because Torchwood One is gone?  She’s a survivor like Ianto, just because he managed to stay sane doesn’t mean they all did.  We can’t tell what effect the Battle had on her,” Owen replied.

“Well let’s find out.  Get an APB put out on her I want to talk to her and find out why the hell she would want to hurt Evan and Ianto,” Jack said angrily.

“I’ve already done that and we’re too late.  The police picked Timmons up for me near Mermaid Quay and took her back to the station.

“The girls were out sending the slime alien back through the rift so I couldn’t leave.  I got a call just before you woke up, Claudia’s killed herself, I didn’t think to put her on suicide watch,” Owen replied his voice full of regret.

“The police have searched her hotel room.  Apparently it’s full of pictures of Ianto, violent sentiments, accusations about the corruption of innocents like she blames him for letting those new recruits stay and be massacred in the battle.

“I’ve told them to keep the room guarded and not to take anything until we get there,” Owen added.

“Why?”

“Two of the drugs I found in Evan’s system were Keresh and Durnal.”

“The slave and the sex drug?” Jack asked angrily.

“I told you that when I checked out Torchwood One’s medical supplies that I thought they had been tampered with.  I agreed with you that they could have been used during the battle but now it looks like Timmons took some afterwards.

“With UNIT breathing down our necks I only had time to take the alien and Torchwood experimental drugs and had no time for a proper inventory.  Ianto however has inventoried them, regularly and I can’t find any missing from what we took.

“I think we will find them and Sorech in Timmon’s hotel room or her trash and I don’t want any PC plod getting hold of them and sending them to a lab.”

Jack had to agree they were three very dangerous drugs in the wrong hands.  Keresh let you bend someone’s will, Sorech heightened senses so that pleasure or pain could become excruciating and Durnal could make you feel like an irresistible sex god for two days.”

“Is Evan going to be alright?” Jack asked.

“Ianto left him in good hands.  He’s going to be feeling the sexual effects of the Durnal until tomorrow but shock has destroyed the godlike feeling.

“I’ve arranged for us to cover all his medical expenses for life as we don’t know the long term effects of any of those drugs.  We are also picking up his psych bills and whatever he needs to finish Uni.”

“Will he want to continue at university?”

“Yes I think he will,” Owen replied feeling it best not to say that all AM needed to persuade him was to invoke Ianto’s name.

“I’ll wait until Ianto wakes up before telling Evan that he won’t remember.  I will leave it up to the boy to decide if Ianto should be told,” Owen informed him.

“Sounds good.  If Evan doesn’t want Ianto to know what happened to him we won’t tell him about Claudia either.

“Can I get up now?” Jack asked.

“Yeah but slowly.  You were paralysed even if you were out so it might take a while for your system to be fully functioning again.  We’ll check everything’s in order then we’ll let the girls in to see you,” Owen replied and helped the Captain rise.


	42. Chapter Forty-one

Suzie Costello switched off the recording half way though Owen’s explanation of what happened to Evan and breathed a sigh of relief.  All she needed now was to wait and make sure Ianto didn’t remember anything and she would be safe.

She had planted the bug in the medical bay while Tosh was asleep because she needed to know how much Jack and Ianto remembered.  When Tosh came to her with Owen’s plan she left it recording so she didn’t miss anything.

She had been lucky, far luckier that she had the right to be.  She had almost been too late in coming to her senses and Suzie was determined to make a mends.

Relief was momentary as guilt and remorse, the reason for switching off the recording, overwhelmed her.  Listening to Owen’s slightly angry description she could barely believe what she had done.

The problem was that she had never cared about Evan.  He had been a means to feel powerful again, then a means to get revenge.

When she started drugging Evan, Suzie had known it would probably be several months before he was ready to seduce Ianto.  That had been all she wanted a seduction to turn Jack off the Welshman.

Evan though resisted.  The fact that his adoration of her was loving more than worshipful clawed at her.  

Suzie was still grieving for the man she loved, she didn’t want the boy’s adolescent feelings.  She felt no compunction about using him, about steamrollering over his protests that he was straight in her bid for revenge.

When Ianto was late coming back from his errand running yesterday, like Jack, Suzie checked out the CCTV footage.  She saw how disturbed the young man was by the older woman and needed to know if the stranger could be used to her advantage.

Suzie made sure she overheard Ianto and Jack talking about the Welshman’s encounter with Claudia Timmons.  She realised the chance to bring her plot to an end sooner and destroy any sympathy the Captain might feel for the other survivors of Torchwood One.

It was a risk but she would have a scapegoat to shield her.  Ending things with Evan months sooner had too great an appeal for Suzie to ignore the opportunity.

Looking back she knew it should never have worked.  In fact it hadn’t.

She had pumped Evan full of Durnal and told him that Ianto was waiting for him.  That he would resist but that was just part of his new lover’s fantasy.

Evan had tried to persuade her to test his sex godhood, but the boy feared her enough instinctively that a few angry words were all it took to quell him.  Kind persuasive words were all that was needed to set her arrow towards its bullseye.

It shamed her to think of it, but Suzie had made sure that Ianto never stood a chance of saying no and being listened to.  Jack had been right when he accused her of caring for neither man’s sanity she was just fed up.  She had wanted it over and didn’t care how.

Suzie faked a phone call to herself making sure Evan heard her call herself Claudia.  That way when he was questioned over what he’d done she would get the blame.

She didn’t bother too much with any denial Claudia might produce.  Anyone could see she was a few steps away from suicide and would probably kill herself before they even asked.

Her flimsy new plan in place she sat back watching the Tourist Office’s CCTV to enjoy the show. 

Instead Suzie watched as her whole plot crash disastrously.  Not only did Evan not do what he was supposed to but Jack had gone chasing after both men.

There was no way now, even if Evan mentioned the name Claudia, that either man would believe him.  It suddenly hit Suzie that in her eagerness to get it over and done with, she had jeopardised her own place in Torchwood.

For a few agonising minutes she contemplated leaving.  Thought about turning her back on the life she loved.

No, there was no way Ianto Jones was going to get rid of her that easily.  It would be difficult but Suzie Costello was going to give being the innocent party a damn good try.

She had been smart enough when stealing the drugs she needed to replace them with fakes so that Ianto wouldn’t report the loss from his inventory.  Jack would never authorise their use or testing so it was unlikely that her theft would be discovered that way.

When she started drugging Evan she got herself a pay as you go phone to call him with.  Now she changed the phone records so that only that phone and not her Torchwood one had ever called him.

She had chosen a camera phone and there were some pictures of Evan on it.  She downloaded a few of Ianto and altered some that she appeared in so that they were of Claudia instead, Evan had no pictures of her.

Suzie faked more photographs and some hate messages to leave in Claudia’s room along with the phone and bottles of the drugs she’d stolen.  She left the Hub to put them in place and had just finished when she got the call from Tosh about the Slime Alien.

Jack said nothing as they captured that alien but Suzie knew that she wasn’t going to get away with it.  The Captain had already decided her guilt which meant she had to leave Torchwood before he retconned her.

Then Suzie got a stroke of unexpected luck.  The slime alien’s attack on Ianto gave her a reprieve from the Captain’s wrath, so she could plan her escape, until the amnesiac properties of the slime gave her a way to stay.

With Ianto unable to remember what happened with Evan that left only Jack.  She stole one of the sample containers of the orange slime Jack collected before he put the alien in the cell.

She placed it in a plastic bag and broke it.  Suzie knew that if she confronted Jack they would argue; faking his accidently breaking the container would then be easy.

To make that work though the evidence against Timmons had to be completed.  Suzie made alterations to the CCTV to darken the woman’s gray hair so that she looked young enough to be a temptation to Evan.

She hacked into Ianto’s computer to make sure he hadn’t left any trace of his encounter with Evan there.  Instead she found his searches into the fate of the Canary Wharf survivors.

Suzie felt a little stab of guilt as she read the details but she erased them anyway.  Ianto could not be allowed to remember anything about today.

Lastly, she faked Timmons arrival in Cardiff to be four weeks ago rather than the four days it really was.  Then she went to confront Jack and make him forget.

Jack’s words stung Suzie made her see how far she’d sunk.  It never occurred to her that behind Ianto’s professional mask was a human being trying to cope in a way that Claudia was obviously failing to do.

Suzie had known the telling off was coming but that didn’t stop his words ripping into her with their truth.  She saw her own folly and carried out her plan to give herself a second chance.

Ianto’s almost waking gave her another break so that she tended Jack and not Owen.  That way the medic missed the deliberate nature of the wound and accepted her story about the argument.

When Owen sent her to clean up the Hub she scoured the place for Ianto’s phone knowing that he would have hidden Evan somewhere safe.  The fact that she couldn’t find it rescued her from the temptation of calling the boy and giving herself away.

The problem however was what would happen if Evan decided to call Ianto.  The Welshman knew Claudia, even with battle trauma how convincing would it be to him that Claudia used Evan as her sex slave?

Unexpectedly Owen Harper dashed to Suzie’s rescue.  He found Evan’s blood sample then Evan himself.  The medic tended her victim and in his exhausted state accepted Claudia’s name as that of the boy’s mistress.

Suzie hadn’t known about the blood sample or Owen finding Evan until she played back the recording of the medic’s conversation with Jack in the medical bay.  Suddenly her useless frame job became a concrete shield to protect her.

She skipped the rest of the conversation, not wanting to listen to the truth about herself and decided to hear what they were discussing now.  Suzie tuned into the bug in time to hear that Owen was looking after Evan and they would leave it up to him whether or not to tell Ianto when he woke.

As Suzie hastily switched off the bug she knew she was safe.  Evan would never want Ianto to know his shame, he would be too embarrassed.

She went to greet Jack all smiles, confident that she had gotten away with it.


	43. Chapter Forty-Two

As Ianto Jones returned to consciousness he was aware that he’d been drugged.  He fought a slight panic, he was lying down not sitting in a chair as he usually did when he fell asleep beside Lisa.

“It’s okay, okay,” a soft voice crooned as a hand soothed his hair trying to calm him.

It worked but his body still ached in a new way rather than its normal exhaustion.  Part of him wanted to stay where he was but he needed to know what was happening, to him and to Lisa.

“Welcome back,” Jack’s face and beaming smile as he opened his eyes did a great deal to relax Ianto.

Whatever had happened Ianto knew Lisa hadn’t been discovered.  If she had he would most likely to wake in a cell next to a Weevil not in the medical bay.

“Ianto I need you to tell me what you did yesterday,” Jack said and instantly the Welshman felt worried again.

Nonetheless the Archivist described his day omitting his visits to Lisa and substituting sleeping in his own bed in is lodgings for by her side in the Hub.  Disappointment shone in Jack’s eyes and Ianto feared that he might have been wrong, that they did know about Lisa but were trying to trap him.

“I’m sorry to tell you that isn’t what you did and that’s more like a few days ago,” Jack said sadly. 

The Captain told him about being called out to deal with the slimy alien and the fact that it got loose and he was attacked.  How they found out that, as well as temporarily paralysing him, there was an amnesiac in the slime and it had wiped a day from his life.

Relief that Lisa remained undiscovered coupled with worry for her being without him for over a day.  Okay he’d made sure that she had several days worth of drugs connected to her just in case this sort of thing happened but Ianto still needed to see for himself.

That meant getting out of the medical bay and loosing Jack as soon as possible.

His body felt stiff and unused but Ianto made a determined effort to sit up.  He felt like he had pins and needles and his fingers were not sure if they wanted to work.

“You should stay there Owen wants to look at you.  He’d be here now but he’s exhausted so I sent him to rest,” Jack said as Ianto began stretch his muscles then extract everything sticking on or into him.

“If I’ve been out of action for a few days I’d hate to think that a state the Hub’s in,” Ianto lied determined to get out of there.

All Owen’s monitors and IV’s removed and Ianto swung his legs over the side of the bed.  He wiggled his toes experimentally to check they worked before hopping off the bed.

His knees gave way and he felt himself fall.  Then strong arms caught him and lifted him up.

Ianto found himself face to face with Jack, being held up by him.  In the Captain’s eyes was that look, the one from when they caught the pterodactyl.

For a few seconds Ianto was caught in that gaze.  The scent of fifty-first century pheromones, the feel of Jack’s body so close, leaning into him, made the Welshman wish to be closer, wish to...

“Oi what are you doing out of bed?  Harkness you’re supposed to be watching him,” Owen’s irate voice had the same effect as a bucket of cold water.

“Sorry,” Jack replied then lifted Ianto back onto the bed as though he weighed nothing.

“I’ll catchya later,” the Captain smirked and sauntered out the door.

Ianto felt stunned.  He thought the moment in the warehouse was a one off caused by adrenaline.  That Jack, like him, had forgotten all about it.

Yet being held by the Captain he felt desire and need stirring in him.  _It’s nothing you’re recovering from an alien slime attack and he’s playing the protective hero, it’s nothing,_ Ianto tried to reassure himself.

Before the internal debate could continue Owen began what turned into a four hour medical that combined a thorough examination and physiotherapy.  Ianto felt a lot better when he was let go but the medic insisted that he go straight home and rest.

Ianto’s protests were thoroughly squashed by Jack who practically threw him out the door and offered to drive him home.  The Welshman refused and got himself a taxi instead, a taxi that he directed towards one of the alternative entrances to the Hub.

Having snuck back in Ianto immediately went to Lisa.  She was worried about him and he explained what happened to him.

He checked over her medication, replenished it, and made sure everything else was as it should be.  His hand’s still didn’t have their full dexterity back and shook so much Ianto didn’t hear her criticise the frailty of his human flesh.

Once everything was sorted out he sat down in his usual chair and woke up the next day.  He still ached but he wasn’t feeling so numb.

He checked that Lisa was alright, kissed her and grabbed a spare suit before heading for one of the Hub’s bathrooms to shower and change.  Ianto then headed out the hidden exit and made his way back to the Tourist Office.

It was only as he got into the lift that he remembered his intimate encounter with Jack in the medical bay.  Ianto had thought that the Captain’s ardour had been dampened in the weeks he’d been there but his plight seemed to have renewed it.

The last thing Ianto wanted was another encounter like that with Jack.  He belonged with Lisa, she needed him, the last thing he wanted to do was betray her for a man he meant nothing to.

Ianto entered the Hub and went to make Jack his first coffee of the day.  Jack was on the phone as he delivered it and the smile he returned held more relief than pleasure.

The Welshman knew that as soon as Jack’s phone call was finished the Captain would come looking for him.  The best defence he could have would be found doing one of his least sexy jobs.

He saw to the prisoners knowing that they had probably been neglected in his absence before making his way towards the pterodactyl’s eyrie.  There was a bathroom nearby where he changed into fishing waders, wellies and a protective jacket.

He then went to get the wheelbarrow and shovel for mucking the prehistoric bird out.  He knew she wouldn’t be there at this time of day and there was nothing sexy about guano.

After a while he could hear Jack’s voice calling his name.  Ianto made himself ignore it knowing that replying would only encourage the man.

He heard Jack enter and stop.  For several minutes the Captain just stood there in the doorway.

 _Yes that’s right there’s nothing to see here, no nicely fitted suits just ugly Neoprene and pterodactyl poop._ Yet the silence stretched out too long for someone who was just stunned.

“Whatcha doing?” Jack asked before the silence became too much for Ianto.

“I’m conducting an experiment to make a new form of facial mud.  I’m hoping it will take decades off a person.  It will be a high price range beauty product and will make me incredibly rich.  Would you like to be my first test subject?” Ianto deadpanned still shovelling guano into the barrow.

It was a stupid question and Jack was making him feel uncomfortable.  _What on earth is he staring at me like that for?_

“I don’t remember this being in your list of jobs,” his boss said after a while.

“I was a little miffed by your preferences when I gave you the list and we hadn’t managed to catch her at that time,” Ianto pointed out.

The Captain took a step closer so Ianto straightened, forcing him to step back out of the way as he began to wheel the barrow towards the door.   The Welshman ducked out to fetch the straw to spread around the floor.

“Still that doesn’t mean you should be the only one to clean her out.  Or the prisoners,” Jack said quietly stepping closer.

“The rest of you have more important things to do than worry about feeding and cleaning.  And that was in my job description Sir,” Ianto replied turning around to face him.

He hadn’t realised Jack was so close.  Ianto felt the same stirring he had in the medical bay, the same desire as he stared into the Captain’s eyes.

“You don’t have to call me Sir.  Everyone else calls me Jack,” he said quietly moving closer.

“I’m not sure that would be appropriate Sir.”

“No?”

“No,” Ianto confirmed but he was moving closer to, drawn to the man who should just be his boss.

For the second time since he woke from the slime attack Ianto almost kissed Jack.  For the second time an unexpected noise prevented him.

The pterodactyl screeched as it entered the eyrie.  Jack instantly turned to face the prehistoric creature.

Relief and disappointment flooded through Ianto.  _I have a girlfriend.  I don’t need a one off man shag._

He left the eyrie to get some meat for the pterodactyl.  Anything to stop himself dwelling on the confusion he felt.

As he entered the Captain was petting the prehistoric bird as though she was a dog.  He felt disappointed to have been ditched so easily and relief that he no longer needed to worry about Jack’s unwarranted attentions.

“Would you like to help me feed her Sir?” Ianto asked after watching for several minutes.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Jack asked the prehistoric creature thankfully not in that awful tone most people use with pets.

“I’m sure your Myfanwy will love it sir,” Ianto informed him without a hint of sarcasm while feeling a stab of jealousy.

Jack gave the pteranodon a last scratch and walked over to the Welshman.  Ianto kept his eyes downcast not daring to be caught by their power.

“Thank you Ianto,” he said taking some of the meat to throw to the dinosaur.  “Here you go Myfanwy.”

Ianto helped with the feeding and knew that forevermore the pterodactyl was going to be called Myfanwy.  It suited her and the Captain loved calling her that.

The feeding done the archivist took a second shower and changed back into his suit.  He tried to do as many of the clean up jobs that he could but he was slow and felt so tired and achy.

It was barely mid afternoon when Owen told him to go home.  He felt so exhausted he didn’t argue, nor did he protest when Jack insisted on taking him this time.

Ianto felt embarrassed and explained that these were his temporary lodgings.  Jack suggested that he have a bath as that helped him after he woke up from his accident with the alien slime.

Before he could do that though his land lady, Mrs. Llewellyn, insisted that Jack stay for tea.  The Welshman put it down to the Captain’s natural charm that she asked and that Ianto himself didn’t protest.

She bundled Jack into the lounge while Ianto made his bath and lay in it.  The warm water felt so good but before he knew it turned cold and Jack was banging worried on the door.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” Ianto called, hastily getting out and drying himself off.

He checked his room was Captain Harkness free before getting dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.  Ianto went down to the kitchen and found that Mrs. Llewellyn had cooked pasta for the three of them.

The Welshman ate it feeling ravenous, unable to remember when he’s last eaten.  Afterwards they went into the lounge where Jack began to tell one of his wild stories.

Ianto never heard the end as he drifted back to sleep and spent his only night in Mrs. Llewellyn house.


	44. Chapter Forty-three

Ianto Jones was the most adorable cock tease that ever walked the Earth, given Jack’s lengthy experience with various time lines on this planet that was quite an accolade.  What made him most adorable was the fact that the Welshman seemed totally oblivious to his own thrall.

Take when he woke up from the sedation Owen had been inducing.  Wilting people had never done anything for Jack except in those dashing hero moments where he was aided by adrenaline.

As Ianto tried to get up and collapsed he both triggered Jack’s protective instincts and aroused him.  If Owen had been a second later he would have caught them kissing.

He left Owen to it and waited for another opportunity to corner Ianto alone.  The medic squashed that instantly by insisting the Welshman go home and rest.

Ianto decided to take a cab home but Jack was tempted to follow him to make sure he got there safely.  However, guilt that he’d been neglecting the rest of the team prevented him.

They’d done excellent work whilst he was unconscious and worked hard to restore him and Ianto to health.  So he spent the rest of the day checking how they all were, praising where he could and mending the damage the argument with Suzie caused before making sure they were sent home early.

Jack didn’t watch the CCTV the next day because he knew from Owen that Ianto was likely to be late in.  What he hadn’t expected was a phone call from the Prime Minister’s office complaining that he’s missed a conference call.

It had been ages since he’d done that without a rift related problem to get him out of the call, since Ianto had begin to organise his schedule in fact.  With his archivist come assistant out of action Jack hadn’t remembered on his own.

That meant that Jack couldn’t angle for a snog over the first coffee of the day.  The immortal still hadn’t decided if he wanted to reinstate his little game of waiting for Ianto to kiss him.

The call went on for what seemed like half a lifetime, in other words eternity given his lifespan.  His only pleasures were Ianto delivering his coffee and then watching him walk first to the lower level then out towards the upper levels.

He had not returned when Jack finished his call so that’s where he went looking for him using his wrist strap, tapped into the Hub’s tracking systems, to help him.

When he reached the level where the pterodactyl’s eyrie was he noticed the bathroom door had been left ajar.  Inside was Ianto’s suit waiting and fantasies about discovering a naked Welshman entered his head.

He called out Ianto’s name but got no answer.  He rechecked his wrist strap and realised that the Welshman had to be in the eyrie.

The sight before his stopped him dead.

For an instant he was back in the summer of 1934 when an investigation into alien sightings had taken him to the Welsh hills where he stayed with a farmer called Dai. 

They had spent hours traipsing the countryside for UFO’s then returned to spend hours romping in the barn.  It was an idyllic time but right now it was a different Welshman he was envisioning in the hay.

_Did the man have no idea how magnificent his arse looked in those waders?  Right now he’s managing to push my both my farmhand and my rubber fetish._

Jack couldn’t help admiring Ianto.  His strong arms, the grace of his movements, that arse that begged to be fondled every time it slipped out from beneath his suit jacket as he bent.

“Whatcha doing?” Jack asked as he realised that his presence was causing Ianto to tense.

“I’m conducting an experiment to make a new form of facial mud.  I’m hoping it will take decades off a person.  It will be a high price range beauty product and will make me incredibly rich.  Would you like to be my first test subject?” Ianto deadpanned without stopping.

Jack was gobsmacked.  Sexy, witty and challenging, the immortal could feel his arousal growing and his brain loosing focus.

He had to be careful.  He was in danger of making an idiot out of himself the same way as he had when Ianto first started.

“I don’t remember this being in your list of jobs,” the immortal said his brain not yet ready to give in to lust.

“I was a little miffed by your preferences when I gave you the list and we hadn’t managed to catch her at that time,” Ianto pointed out.

Jack’s brain was fighting a losing battle against his desire to touch as he stepped forward.

Suddenly Ianto straightened and he was forced back to give the Welshman room to manoeuvre his wheelbarrow.  Jack wondered if Torchwood should get a garden as the young man left the room and returned with some clean bedding for the pterodactyl.

“Still that doesn’t mean you should be the only one to clean her out.  Or the prisoners,” Jack said taking his chance step closer again.

“The rest of you have more important things to do than worry about feeding and cleaning.  And that was in my job description Sir,” Ianto replied turning around to face him.

Ianto looked slightly stunned as he realised he was so close to Jack.  The Welshman turned on that intense gaze of his, the one that seemed to be looking inside him, and turning him on even more.

“You don’t have to call me Sir.  Everyone else calls me Jack,” the Captain said remembering that he had only heard the Welshman using his name once.  He wanted more, wanted to hear that Welsh twist as he leaned closer.

“I’m not sure that would be appropriate Sir.”

“No?”

“No,” Ianto’s voice was determined but his body was betraying him as it has in the medical bay.

This time Jack knew he was going to get that kiss.

The screech startled him and instinct tore him from Ianto.  It took him a second to remember that they were standing in the pterodactyl’s eyrie and that she’d returned.

He felt Ianto leave and couldn’t resist approaching the prehistoric bird.  One of the beauties of being immortal is that you don’t have to worry about dinosaurs attacks.

That was excellent news when trying to impress potential lovers.  Jack could see her considering resisting but at the first touch she surrendered.

Jack guessed that even if you were a prehistoric creature you could still get lonely for contact.  He had witness pterodactyl behaviour first hand and knew exactly where she would like to be touched.

“Would you like to help me feed her Sir?”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Jack said encouragingly.

“I’m sure your Myfanwy will love it sir,” Ianto’s voice was neutral but Jack could have sworn there was a hint of jealousy there.

Jack gave the pteranodon a last scratch before turning his attention back on the Welshman.  Disappointingly Ianto wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“Thank you Ianto,” he said taking some of the meat to throw to Myfanwy.

Jack had forgotten that Ianto was not a man to impress with showing off.  He’d almost had his chance for that kiss, to explore the possibilities the forgotten kiss suggested and he blew it.

Squashing the regret he felt Jack concentrated on feeding Myfanwy.  It was the perfect name for her and she seemed to like it.

When they finished Jack washed his hands but decided to leave Ianto in peace to shower.  He really wanted to strip off and join him but that would be an unwelcome harassment.

Instead he headed down to his quarters to take care of the problem Ianto had given his little captain.  He returned to the main area of the Hub in time for Tosh to arrive and resume her chaperone duties.

As the day progressed Jack felt more like a concerned boss than a horny one.  He admonished himself for not noticing earlier that Ianto was still recovering from the alien slime attack.

His movements were still mostly graceful but they were slower.  Ianto looked exhausted but he was displaying determination to do his job that Jack admired greatly.

He felt grateful to Owen that he intervened and ordered Ianto home again.  The true extent of the Welshman’s tiredness was in the lack of protest.

This time Jack insisted that he take Ianto home and told the others they could go when they finished.  The Welshman accepted then apologised with embarrassment when they arrived at his temporary accommodations.

Jack had a feeling of déjà vu as he entered the house and was greeted by the landlady.  This was increased then Mrs. Llewellyn invited him to stay for tea.

He’d suggested to Ianto that he go and have a bath in the car and didn’t mind being shanghaied by Mrs. Llewellyn.  He wanted to know more about the Welshman even from a virtual stranger but her words as she closed the lounge door shocked him.

“How is the boy?  Evan wasn’t it.”

Immediately Jack realised why the house was familiar.  He knew that if he saw Ianto’s room he would recognise it as the one they tended Evan in.

“I wanted to ask him but with him working so hard and being away I haven’t had the chance.”

“Evan’s in good hand’s Mrs. Llewellyn, being given the best of care,” Jack replied gently.

“That’s good news he looked so awful when you arrived though I admit he seemed much better when the young lady took him away.”

“Do you mind doing me a favour Mrs. Llewellyn and not mention Evan to Ianto.  He’s made sure everything that can be done for him is being done but it still upsets him.

“None of it is Ianto’s fault, their encounter the other day was pure chance, but Evan’s the brother of a friend of his, someone he’s very close to and Ianto feels responsible.  It’s ridiculous of course but nevertheless,” Jack said trying to be reasonable.

“I promise I won’t mention it to him.  He’s a good boy I don’t want to cause him more distress.”

“Thank you Mrs. Llewellyn.”

Jack decided to change the conversation by telling one of his more respectable stories while they took tea.  Afterwards the landlady asked if he wanted to stay for dinner and they both realised that though it had been over an hour since he’d gone up Ianto hadn’t joined them.

The immortal suddenly feared the worse.  He raced up, was halted by recognising the bedroom but quickly shook himself and started banging on the door.

Ianto’s sleepy “I’ll be out in a minute,” did much to relieve Jack’s worry.

He waited until he heard the splashing sound of someone leaving the bath before retreating to the hall.  Again he waited until he heard the door open before heading back downstairs.

He returned to the kitchen to find Mrs. Llewellyn cooking pasta.  She was grumbling to herself that Ianto worked too hard and looked half starved.

Ianto appeared looking absolutely delectable in jeans and a t-shirt.  If Jack hadn’t been feeling so much concern he would have felt hard again.

Mrs. Llewellyn put enough pasta on Ianto’s plate to feed two people.  The Welshman ate as though starved and Jack wondered when he’d last eaten.

They went back into the lounge after dinner and Jack began to tell another of his stories.  Half way through he was interrupted by the sound of a gentle snore.

Jack and Mrs Llewellyn exchanged smiles before the immortal lifted the Welshman up and carried him to bed.  He removed the jeans and tucked Ianto in.

The immortal kissed the young man’s forehead and wished him sweet dreams.  Ianto rolled over onto his stomach and Jack sighed at what was a beautiful sight, morning or evening.

He rejoined the landlady and finished his story for her before making his excuses to leave.  Jack returned to the Hub determined that as soon as Ianto recovered they would share a kiss and more.


	45. Chapter Forty-four

For all Jack, Suzie and Owen’s determination to ensure that Ianto never found out about Evan, none of them ever wondered what Claudia Timmons was doing near Mermaid Quay when the police picked her up.

It also never occurred to any of them to check the mail box for the Tourist Office while Ianto was out of commission.

When Ianto woke in bed for a moment Canary Wharf was forgotten.  It was only when he realised the coldness beside him was caused by more than Lisa having just left him that reality sunk in.

He felt guilty about not being by her side and then embarrassment that it could only have been Jack that put him to bed.  He was grateful to realise he still wore his t-shirt and boxers but Ianto knew there would be consequences.

Ianto delivered Jack’s morning coffee and did a few light jobs under the Captain’s watchful gaze before retreating to the archives.  He took a risk quickly checking Lisa was alright before organising his work for later.

Once everyone else arrived he went to the Tourist Office and opened it up.  In his e-mail inbox was a message from his solicitor telling him the date his house would be ready for him.

He replied with a quick thank you and drafted a letter to Mrs. Llewellyn giving her notice with a week’s grace of the date.  He felt a little sad to be moving out as she had been good to him but his clandestine work would be much safer with no one aware of his movements.

Everything sorted out he checked the post box and opened the office.  Inside with the junk mail and a letter from the main tourist office was one hand written and addressed personally to Ianto.

The Welshman had no idea who could have written him a letter unless it was one of the people he met on the Welsh Tourist Board seminar.  He recycled the junk and set aside the official letter and opened his one.

 

_Dear Ianto,_

_I know you to be a man of your word, one who keeps his promises, so I know that when you did not meet me as arranged it was because you really were unable to do so.  Give that you now work for Torchwood 3 your absence becomes both understandable and forgivable.  I only hope that you still get the opportunity to read this letter._

_I wanted to tell you that I was always very proud of my choice of you, even before your psychic abilities were uncovered.  It always made me proud reading the research you did on all of the new recruits and always irritated me when people praises your psychic abilities and how they made you such a good judge of character while ignoring your other brilliance._

_You were brilliant, bright and shining like so many of them.  I knew when I met you that I just had to have you in Torchwood._

_I was so selfish.  I always made sure our soldiers and field agents had military and combat training I never bothered to for admin or the scientists.  We were all so ignorant and naïve, so innocent and I chose all of you._

_When I told you that I had to find you for the challenge that wasn’t entirely true.  I saved you for last because you were the most important one for me to find._

_I know you didn’t see me on that hateful day but I was four people behind you in the line.  I saw what they did to Lisa.  What they nearly did to us._

_I came to find you because I needed to ask you for your forgiveness.  I needed you to forgive me for not being able to get her out safely.  I needed you to forgive me for leaving her behind when we became separated only to be captured ourselves.  I needed you to forgive me for just running like a frightened animal when then the howling wind came to take the Cybermen away and I needed you to forgive me for ever letting Torchwood touch your life, even though you said it was your choice._

_Do not reproach yourself over what is to follow.  I said and I meant it, that I know the value of your word, it is Torchwood and not your will that prevented you from meeting me._

_That is the sign to me that despite your reassurance I was right, I am guilty of destroying the lives and innocence of so many people._

_I only wish now to tell you that I go willingly to my judgement.  Despite the fears I am proud that you chose to continue to serve.  Jack Harkness is a good man and I hope his philosophy serves humanity better than ours did._

_Take care of yourself Ianto Jones, you will serve with brilliance and I wish you good fortune._

_With fondest regards,_

_Claudia Timmons_

 

In disbelief Ianto set aside the letter and turned to his computer.  He used Torchwood’s resources to find out Claudia’s fate and learnt that she’d been taken in for questioning and arrested but died in custody before her interview.

Her funeral was tomorrow.  Ianto wanted to go but knew he wouldn’t be able to, he didn’t think Jack would allow him the time off to attend a Torchwood One funeral.

Perhaps for what he wanted that was for the best.  Ianto re-read her letter before folding it up and placing it in his jacket pocket.

Ianto felt the sudden need for company.  He closed the Tourist Office and headed down into the Hub.

Jack wasn’t in his office and the others were so busy doing things that none of them noticed as he passed each, tidying rubbish away.  He took it down to be recycling and was on his way back when it hit him.

_None of these people are my friends.  I’m invisible to them all._

He stepped back, hidden from view and watched them feeling only mild affection for Tosh and Owen.  _None of them know me, none of them care._

Ianto was frozen where he stood as grief, pain, loneliness and despair poured over him.  Claudia’s letter brought back the horror of the battle, seeing Lisa in the conversion unit being transformed.

It was too much, too overwhelming and he felt so alone.  In that moment not even his love for Lisa was enough as he grabbed for recent memories of being cared for, and found only confusing memories of Jack closing towards him.

Ianto stood there ready to give in.  To what he was surrendering and to what escape he had yet to decide when an unlikely angel called to save him.

“Oi Coffee Boy come here I need your help with something,” Owen’s voice echoed over the PA system.

Out of pure habit Ianto schooled his face and his thoughts.  It didn’t matter how he felt a second ago, didn’t matter that Owen probably only wanted him to look up something he could research himself on Google, he’d asked for help and that was something the Welshman couldn’t ignore.

Owen’s request wasn’t trivial and nor was Toshiko’s or Suzie’s.  They were enough to focus his mind again, enough to make him banish those horrific memories.

Yet now Ianto could no longer ignore what happened to the other twenty-seven, twenty-six survivors.  Claudia had been right about one thing, when it came to research, to reading character from that research he was brilliant.

He began to track the others down and to see from afar what it was that they needed to help them remain survivors.  Ianto knew he wouldn’t be able to do that forever but he could give them a kick start.

By the end of the day Ianto had himself under control.  He dismissed his selfish misery and concentrated on helping the others to defend Cardiff from aliens.

There was only one crack that remained unsealed.

Ianto Jones hesitated as he made Jack Harkness’ last coffee of the day.  They had almost kissed three times now and the Welshman knew tonight there would be no distractions, no avoiding it.

He had promised Lisa and himself that he would do everything to avoid crossing this line.  Yet after this morning Ianto had no resistance left.

The Welshman took the coffee to Jack’s office, set it down and took the chair indicated.  He returned the smile feeling better and worse at the same time.

“Did I ever tell you about my encounter with the Dosarit’s of Nenos?” were the last words Ianto expected Jack to utter.

“No sir,” the Welshman managed through his shock.

“Well...”

Jack launched into one of his stories leaving the Welshman to sit there listening in stunned silence.  When he finished he declared he was hungry and got Ianto to order Chinese for them, then launched into another story.

The second story was interrupted by their meal arriving and they moved to the Conference Room to eat.  Jack continued his story as he ate before launching into another.

Ianto didn’t notice that he ate three times as much Chinese as Jack.  Afterwards the Captain sat him on the sofa in the Hub and continued with the storytelling until the Archivist slipped into sleep.

The Welshman woke alone.  He checked with a computer before faking his exit from the Hub and snuck down to see Lisa.

Looking at her reaffirmed his purpose as his heart filled with love for her and pain for what had been done to her.  New resolution settled within him that it didn’t matter if he was ignored or if Jack changed his mind he would continue for her.

He went back to his lodgings to change into his most sombre suit, handed in his notice and asked Mrs. Llewellyn if she would accept a delivery for him.  He then returned to the Hub and carried on as normal.

That night after Jack told him another adventure Ianto returned to his lodgings to collect the wreath that had been delivered.  It was difficult to find the grave in the dark and there was only one anonymous tribute to mark it.

Ianto set his flowers on Claudia Timmon’s grave and stood solemnly.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there when you asked me to be.  You know how it is, I got attacked by a slime alien and lost a day of memory, my psychic abilities and was sedated so the paralysing effects wouldn’t trigger a PTSD incident.

“I forgive you Claudia,” Ianto told the grave despite not being sure how much his forgiveness was worth.

Grief threatened to overwhelm him but he held it back.  He couldn’t afford to let it rule him, let it erode his resolve.

For an hour he stood there before a voice asked.

“Are you alright sir?”

He turned this light towards the sound and saw a man and woman.  She had long dark hair and he was taller with short curly hair.

“I was just paying my respects,” Ianto replied.

“Did you know her?” the woman asked revealing a gap between her teeth as she spoke and confirming his suspicions that they were police officers.

“We worked for the same company in London though we only spoke five, six times.  There was a terrorist attack a few months ago and we survived.  I try to get on with my life, Claudia couldn’t.”

“I don’t remember anything about a terrorist attack a few months ago,” the man said suspiciously.

“It wasn’t one of the major groups and our work was a government contract, highly classified, they didn’t want it widely known.

“You can reassure the officers who arrested her that they were not the cause of her death.  She had already made that decision you just delayed her for a little while.”

“How do you know that?”

“She wrote me a letter.  I was supposed to meet her but I had an accident I only woke this morning and learnt of her death this afternoon.  Her letter makes it clear she intended to die.”

“Why haven’t you handed this letter in?” the woman pressed confirming that they were the arresting pair.

“I told you our work was highly classified and she made mention of it in her letter.  I handed it in to the appropriate authorities no doubt you will get a report in due course,” Ianto told them already adding it to his list of jobs to do.

“Could I have another moment?” he asked. 

Ianto could see the woman preparing to ignore his request and ask another question but her partner interceded and they withdrew.

He stood there for another two minutes before saying a last farewell to Claudia.  He walked from the graveyard past the policemen in plain clothes, keeping to the shadows.

“Thank you for the flowers they were a most thoughtful gesture,” Ianto told them before disappearing into the night.


	46. Chapter Forty-five

Jack watched his team as Ianto served them coffee. 

The tension between the Welshman and Suzie had settled down again and they discussed what his second-in-command needed to help her research the glove they had dredged up from the bay.

Owen was busy working and didn’t acknowledge the Welshman at all.  Ianto however carefully nudged the piece of equipment the medic needed next within easier reach.

Tosh almost missed Ianto as she too was absorbed in her work, but before he left her she realised he was there and stopped him.  They talked and the technical genius said something that made Ianto smile.

Lastly Ianto came towards him to give Jack his coffee.  On the way he put down the tray he was carrying and picked up the reports he had to deliver.

Jack took both with a polite ‘thank you Ianto’ and received a smile with the Welshman’s reply.  More important was the fact that the archivist looked him in the eye.

It was a small victory and as Jack turned back into his office he felt the burn of shame and guilt for what might have been.  He gave great thanks that he hadn’t made a huge, hurtful mistake.

The morning after Jack tucked Ianto into bed at his lodgings he felt his resolve to wait until the young man healed waiver as soon as he received his first coffee.

The moment the Welshman was out of sight he began to wonder what harm it would do if they just exchanged a few kisses, perhaps some heavy petting.  Jack had to clamp down hard and resolved to wait and see how Ianto was this evening, because he realised that he couldn’t have just a few kisses he wanted to go all the way.

_I was such a blind idiot that morning._

Jack had decided he needed to re-channel his energy and went to get some target practice in.

On his way back from the gun range he saw Ianto and was about to approach when he realised what the expression on the young man’s face was.  Jack saw grief, pain, misery and fear in a way he had never seen the Welshman express before.

For a few moments he was looking at a man with no hope, a man on the verge of something terrible.

Then Owen’s voice sounded over the PA.

Instantly Ianto’s professional mask began to slip into place.  He was the pokerfaced Archivist that Jack ogled once more but the Captain couldn’t forget that moment.

The Immortal returned immediately to his office and began to bring up the CCTV to see what had triggered such despondency.  While waiting, Jack watched Ianto’s reactions as the team gave him jobs to do and added a few of his own as the Welshman seemed desperate for work.

Jack watched Ianto open the letter on the security feed and knew it came from Claudia Timmons before checking the Welshman’s computer to find his search for her.  The Captain cursed himself for not checking the Tourist Office post but when the Archivist made no calls he guessed the letter made no mention of Evan.

Instead he had come down to the Hub, looking for Jack perhaps, and when he didn’t find the reassurance he wanted he had let the pain the letter caused overwhelm him.

Jack kept an eye on Ianto throughout that day.  As he worked the control and calm came easier to him, but a tension remained and seemed to grow.

As Ianto gave him his penultimate coffee Jack realised the source of tension was him.  The Immortal couldn’t understand it, couldn’t understand why he felt the Welshman was afraid of him.

It took him the rest of the time before he sent the others home but he worked it out.

Ianto Jones was a thinker, a planner, a preparer.  Only in moments of surprise or extreme feeling did he let his emotions rule him.

For each of those kisses and almost kisses they had shared, Jack had caught Ianto off guard and he let passion rule him.

Tonight when he came to Jack there would be no surprises.  When he brought the Captain’s final coffee he would be bringing his body for inevitable kisses and more.

_If Ianto doesn’t want to have sex with me then why not just deliver the coffee and say no?_

_Because he’s afraid too._

Jack didn’t understand that.  He knew he could be frightening but Ianto hadn’t been exposed to that side of him.  If anything he’d been exposed to a gentler more tender side that he rarely let others see.

The image of Ianto’s face in that moment of despair returned to him.

_...girlfriend Lisa Hallet.  Deceased.... What am I supposed to do with those memories....? I’m not sure that would be appropriate Sir._

_You really do think with your balls sometimes don’t you Jack._

With his control, efficiency and sexy body it was easy to forget that Ianto had survived the same trauma as Claudia Timmons.  A hot suit and a pterodactyl pushed aside the memory of a rent boy outfit and desperation slipping out from assumed cockiness.

Ianto Jones survived the loss of over eight hundred people, including many friends and his girlfriend, by doing something to make him worthy of survival.

He had come to Torchwood Three, taken on the boring or nasty little jobs that no one else wanted to do to keep himself sane.  The enthusiasm he was putting into his work today was proof of that.

_It can’t be easy sorting out your life when your boss drools over you and the second-in-command doesn’t like you._

For four weeks Ianto had been slowly rebuilding his life and now Claudia, the forgotten Evan and the slime alien attacking him in the Hub had smashed that.  Destroyed his confidence that he had proven his worth to Torchwood Three, proven his right to stay.

Jack didn’t like where his thoughts were taking him but people often don’t like the truth.  He wondered briefly if the letter would have made any difference or if without it he would just have remained ignorant of what he was doing.

He had always been so careful.  One of the reasons he’d never made a pass at Toshiko, despite her beauty, was because he hadn’t want to put her in this position.

In all his fantasies he and Ianto shared mutual pleasure.  He would show the Welshman sensual delights beyond his previous vanilla existence.

Only he’d forgotten Ianto was a man rebuilding his life, a man clinging to Torchwood, to the familiarity of their mad world, a man so desperate he would sell himself without realising he was probably making things worse for himself.

Jack didn’t want to become part of Ianto’s to do list.  He could read it now; tidy up the Hub, check, muck out the pterodactyl, check, pleasure the captain, check.

The slight delay in Ianto bringing his coffee and the way he wouldn’t look in the Captain’s eyes had told Jack he was right.  Then he asked “Did I ever tell you about my encounter with the Dosarit’s of Nenos?” the adorably gobsmacked look he received simply confirmed everything.

So Jack told his least arousing story while Ianto half listened in silence.  Feeling hungry made the immortal realise he didn’t think the young man had eaten all day.

The Captain always ordered far too much Chinese because he loved the variety of flavours.  By the time they had finished there were no leftovers.

Jack watched food and his voice relax and reassure Ianto.  He changed the tone of his voice and was rewarded as the Welshman fell asleep.

He wanted to kiss Ianto’s forehead but this time it felt like he would be taking something he had no right to.  He also wanted to read the letter but only remembered after the Welshman had rolled on the sofa, making getting it without waking him impossible.

So he had gone to a rooftop to think, to shut in a box all those little moments of sexual chemistry that would make him change his mind.  Jack would let Ianto heal in mind as well as body and be content to wait and see.

Ianto barely had a day to get used to the possibility that Jack didn’t want to use him for sex.  The immortal barely had a day to think of a way to subtly reassure the Welshman that his job was safe no matter what.

Suzie had meant it as a private joke between her and Owen but the Captain was with Ianto as they overheard the Welshman being referred to as Jack’s bed warmer.  The young man instantly became rigid and walked off without a word.

She apologised immediately but the damage was done.

That night Jack received a report on all of Ianto’s activities and anything he felt was relevant to the smooth running of Torchwood.  That night the archivist went home before the others.

In the two weeks since, Jack had received a backlog of weekly reports and Ianto hadn’t stayed at night for coffee.  They maintained a distance from each other and the young man was polite without warmth or coldness.

Jack missed him.  He missed telling his outrageous stories to an attractive, rapt audience of one.  He missed Ianto’s occasional questions.  He missed the company that made the loneliness of the rest of the night a little more bearable.

Today’s smile, being looked in the eye, was the first time since Suzie’s awful joke.  For the first time since that day Jack felt a little hope.

In the evening after the others went home Ianto delivered the last coffees for the first time in two weeks.  Jack told stories for three hours until the Welshman began to look tired and the Captain sent him home to sleep.

Jack watched the Welshman go, unable to help himself from admiring that pert arse as it disappeared.  He still wanted to bed Ianto, to teach him the joys of life but that could wait.

Right now what was important was that Ianto was healing again.

Right now what was important was that Jack had his coffee companion back and, though alone once more, the rest of the night wouldn’t feel as bleak as last night had.


	47. Epilogue

Ianto recognised the policewoman he had met at Claudia Timmon’s graveside the moment the facial recognition software brought her picture up.  He had done a complete security profile on her before Jack ordered him to let her into the base.

As soon as he saw Gwen Cooper in the flesh, Ianto knew he was looking at Torchwood Three’s newest recruit.

For all Jack’s stories about getting the girl, or the guy or the alien with tentacles who could do interesting things with its suckers, whether tale was one where he was being the hero or the seducer; Ianto knew that the Captain also liked to be chased.

Ianto wasn’t entirely surprised that Suzie’s obsession with the glove came to no good.  The murders though had come as a shock, he felt like he should have known, should have prevented them.

The psychic abilities that would have warned him at Torchwood One had made no signs of returning.  He felt deep regret for their loss for the first time as, if he had still possessed them, three lives might have been spared.

As soon as Jack brought Suzie’s body down to inter in the morgue Ianto began adding Gwen’s details to the employee database.  It wasn’t just that he could predict the Captain, but he could see in her a fascination and righteousness that wouldn’t let her turn this job down.

Ianto knew Gwen would be perfect, her profile was excellent for a dedicated, loyal officer of the law.  She didn’t flinch as she was shown the Weevil, she didn’t back down against Jack but argued that he was wrong.

She also didn’t remember Ianto from the graveside.

As first days go though Gwen Cooper’s was turning out to be a bit of a disaster.  Yes, she’d managed to unleash an alien gas that then possessed a young woman and forced her shag men to death.

Yet her words as she called them heartless for enjoying Chinese while Carys suffered touched Ianto deeply.  He’d been allowing himself to get caught up with Torchwood Three, the team and their business, he’d been losing focus on his reason for being there, on Lisa.

As they all went out to find Carys without even telling him, Ianto felt abandoned and a little lost.  When they returned and Gwen began to talk to Jack about what they should do with the girl, the Welshman felt a pang that he was now forever safe from the Captain’s attentions.

They had only just started flirting openly again and now Ianto knew it would never come to anything more.  Gwen was loud and bright and beautiful and a much better distraction than a quiet, reserved Welshman in a suit.

Jack didn’t notice Ianto leaving the final coffee for him and Gwen to drink, didn’t notice as he left and snuck back in to go down to the basement.

Ianto looked at the most beautiful and hideous sight he knew, and smiled his first genuine smile at her for months.  She returned it before grimacing with pain and he checked her medication.

“So how was the new girl?” she croaked.

“I can see why she chose the police force; she has a passion for justice.  She’s compassionate and bold; I think she will be a good influence on the team. 

“I don’t think we have to worry about them so much anymore.  I get the feeling now that when the time comes we could be long gone before their caffeine fix makes them realise I’m not there.

“Speaking of getting you better, I think I’ve found a doctor for us.  I’m just confirming his credentials before I approach him.”

“That might be a while, you always like to be thorough,” Lisa teased him with a smile.

“We don’t want a charlatan and we have to make sure he doesn’t have the morals to grass us up to the authorities.  We want to be able to have him fix you then Retcon him so he doesn’t remember anything.”

“What’s worrying you Ianto?”

“It’s nothing.”

“No it’s them.  I told you they aren’t really your friends.  We’re here because you promised to help me not for you to serve the people who did this to me,” she sounded angry so Ianto didn’t notice the slight metallic resonance in her voice.

“I know, I know but you know what they say, the most convincing lies are the ones you make yourself believe,” Ianto replied soothingly before telling her about how he found this doctor and what he hoped for their future.

It was with bitterness that the Archivist slowly witnessed his prediction coming true.  Ianto though allowed himself to stay invisible for Lisa.

Ianto knew as he watched Gwen’s eyes glaze over during the health and safety briefing that she was never going to be a problem for him.  She was used to the presence of admin staff, used to them being industrious and helpful but otherwise unseen.

Toshiko was the one, other than Jack, who was the biggest risk to Ianto, and the one most affected by Suzie’s death.  The Welshman didn’t think it had anything to do with any friendship the two women shared.

The technical genius had the touch of a crusader about her.  She knew the job was difficult, dangerous and bloody.  It held little reward but Toshiko believed in the good they were doing.

Suzie had turned their purpose against them and that hurt Tosh deeply, made her feel slightly soiled.

Yet instead of becoming withdrawn Toshiko became determined.  Gwen’s more human approach allowed the Technical Genius to re-find her way, feel good about what they were doing once more.

Owen on the other hand was determined not to care about Suzie, despite them occasionally sleeping together.  It was an arrangement of mutual need not heavy romance and after one night getting completely drunk, the matter seemed closed.

When it came to Gwen, Owen did his best to annoy her and got his just deserts when she found moments where she could humiliate him back.  On that first day they were already headed for a moment where she would either punch him or start ripping off his clothes before Jack had intervened.

Ianto thought that when it happened it would be the former.  After all Gwen was a sensible woman, Owen’s jibes were insulting not flattering, she had a boyfriend and there was Jack.

Neither Tosh nor Owen had ever had that much time for the archivist.  The Technical Genius made an effort, when not absorbed in any of her projects, and as the medic tended to use the annoying, insulting method of getting along with him too, Ianto preferred being ignored.

Losing Jack’s attention hurt the most, yet it made him feel relieved.  It also wasn’t an absolute loss.

Every now and then Ianto caught Jack staring at him.  They still flirted occasionally and they still sometimes drank coffee together after the others left.

But Jack could also be caught staring at Gwen, he flirted with her more freely and there was that total seduction attempt the Captain labelled as weapons training.  She drank the late night coffee with him now more often than Ianto did.

None of them noticed Ianto becoming withdrawn.  None noticed that he only went to team briefings if he had something to tell them.

They didn’t notice when he stopped getting meals for himself and only ate when they were all together.  They didn’t notice how tired he was becoming or how rarely or falsely he smiled.

They didn’t spot the lies he told or the hell he was living in.  They never asked him if he was alright or anything that wasn’t work related.

Ianto Jones became Torchwood Three’s invisible man until Jack Harkness aimed his gun at the cyberman in his basement.

 

Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that your enjoyed this story and I will be posting the next one in the series soon.


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